A Mystery
by KagomeGirl92
Summary: Then again, it was just one of the many things he didn't understand about the mystery that was Arthur. Because that's what Arthur was to him: a total mystery. AU, Traveller!Hero!Alfred and Musician!Wizard!Arthur, multiple pairings, hints of Mpreg later.
1. Chapter 1

This was originally written for the Sweethearts Week Challenge on LiveJournal. What can I say? I love AUs, fantasy and _Hetalia_, so I decided to do this one. It was inspired by _Hetalia Fantasia_ fanarts for most part (including Arthur's cloak, because in my option it looked soooo cool on him ^^;). Although I have to say this was not as much competing on my part as it was an excuse to write something once in a while and have some fun. But I still hope I didn't do too badly.

* * *

"It's starting to get dark. Maybe we should stop for today."

As the voice reached the ears of a young man walking on the track in a forest with tall and thick trees, his thoughts were broken, and for the first time in a while he began paying attention to his surroundings again. He always tended to drift off when walking in the silent forest with his companion like this. And indeed, the Sun had already begun setting, the fireflies had started gathering and the air was getting chillier.

The mean in question was rather youthful, probably less than 20 years of age, and not with too bad looks. His eyes were clear sky blue, and his short and straight hair dirty blonde. His hair looked slightly unruly, and his bangs were definitely too long and swept away from his face onto the left side of his forehead. One stubborn strand stuck upwards where his bangs parted from the rest of the hair, pointing towards the skies in a way that defied gravity. The youth was tall, had board shoulders and his slightly tanned skin spoke of that he spent most of his time outdoors. His clothes included a simple parchment-yellow shirt, deep blue jacket which he hadn't buttoned, dirty blue pants and boots. His name was Alfred Jones, and he was a traveller, a people's helper. A "hero" some, including Alfred himself, would say.

Alfred turned to the man walking behind him, the one who had spoken. In the dark he had to strain his eyes slightly to see him properly, as Alfred's eyesight wasn't the best. His companion was, despite obviously being a few years older, slightly shorter than him and somewhat considerably thinner. The colour of his hair was a clearer blonde than Alfred's, but the hair itself was such a ruffled mess that it looked like it hadn't been brushed for weeks. He also had the thickest eyebrows ever seen, but his incredibly green and alluring eyes almost completely made up for these faults in his appearance. He wore otherwise similar clothes as Alfred, except for that instead of a jacket he wore a very dark forest green cloak, a wizard's cloak. To Alfred, his companion was simply Arthur.

"You're probably right." Alfred agreed, setting his bag down on the ground from his back. He heard Arthur do the same with his own. Without any further words between them, they sat on the ground as Arthur began digging through his pack, and took a small jar out of it. It was labelled "Fire Powder", and as the name would suggest, it created fire on the ground technically out of nothing. It didn't even need wood to burn. Depending on the amount of it used, it burned from three to twelve hours. Arthur opened the jar, took some ember red Fire Powder into his hands and scattered it carefully on the ground. In seconds there were flames. Satisfied, he began closing the jar, but then stopped in the midway, sighing.

"We're running out of this stuff again. We'll have to get more when we get to Romanum. If only you let me use the fire spell-"

"No." Alfred said firmly, starting to go through his own things for some food, and finding a few sandwiches. He threw one over to Arthur and began munching on his own. It sure was nice to eat once in a while. "I am never going to let you set our whole surroundings on fire again."

"It was only that one time! And I managed to stop it before it hurt us, didn't I?!" He paused. "And don't talk with your mouth full. Just because we're in forest and alone doesn't mean you have to forget your manners."

"Yeah, you managed to stop it alright. After all the trees around us had burnt. No more fire spells." Alfred finished his sandwich quickly, and swallowed. "And yes, _Mother_."

Arthur gave him a glare, taking a bite of his own sandwich, before beginning to dig through his things again.

Honestly speaking, Alfred didn't understand why Arthur was so keen on becoming a wizard. He was so much better with music than he was with magic. As if to prove that, Arthur just then found what he had been looking for and took out his loyal guitar, which through its enchantment grew into the right size from the original tiny size it had been in Arthur's bag. Arthur took it on his lap and stared to play a soft melody with it. He did this every night when they were out like this, it was just another one of the many unspoken agreements between the two young men. Arthur's music was so calming and beautiful, it always made Alfred forget all the troubles in the world. Arthur really should be trying to become a musician rather than a wizard. But not the way he had been when they had met – waitering in a bar while playing and singing a few pieces here and there to earn more tips – but to just travel like this. The only difference would be that when they'd reach a town, everyone would welcome them and invite Arthur to play in their houses for the night.

Sadly, Alfred realised Arthur would probably have to do more singing in bars once they reached Romanum City. They were almost completely out of food, they needed to stay somewhere while they were there and they needed to buy supplies for their next task as well as more Fire Powder. And he doubted the man who had given them their newest assignment was willing to pay in advance. Most weren't. He took a mental note to search for a job himself too, this time.

"What is our task in Romanum going to be again?" Alfred asked, remembering it.

Arthur's playing ceased. He gave Alfred a glare and sighed. "God, you're hopeless. The tasks are for _you_, and yet I'm the one who always has to remind you about them!"

Alfred just grinned brightly. "Well, I can't be bothered with things like remembering the tasks! Besides, you're far better at remembering things and stuff. Isn't that how we've always done things? You come up with plans, and I carry them out."

Arthur gave another sigh, but said nothing more. Then he took a piece of paper out of his bag, reading the words on it briefly, to make sure he remembered the words on it correctly.

"Some nobleman in Romanum needs help apparently. Something about a missing brother or something." Arthur simply said, putting the letter away and taking up his guitar again.

Alfred smirked at him. "Do you think he'll pay us good?"

"_Well_, Alfred. Not good." Arthur fixed his language, sounding once more like Alfred's mother rather than a man only four years older than him. And Alfred just grinned. "And maybe, he might. If we find his brother that is."

"Come on, Artie,"-the nickname earned him another glare-"we've been in this business for two years now, and have we ever failed?" Alfred stated, his grin never fading, ever the optimist.

"Maybe not, but there's a first time for everything, and at least I hope this time we'll have at least some clues. The last task took us almost four months and I for my part don't enjoy living with just bread and water and never getting to sleep in a warm bed through most of that time." He played a few notes on his guitar, as if trying out the next song. "You should know when to give up on tasks."

"Aww, but don't you think it was worth it? I bet they had given up all hope, but we found their son! And plus, it's a great quote for recommendation, don't ya think? 'Never failed a single task'!"

"They couldn't pay us enough to eat even for a week even though we opposed all sorts of weather and bought all the needed supplies ourselves. And I _hate_ having to work in bars to buy even bread and tea for supper. You wouldn't believe the things people do to me there."

"Hey, just bread and _water_ would be okay. I don't even like tea."

"It's more nourishing than bare water, you git." Arthur scowled.

"Money isn't everything, Arthur."

"I know it isn't." And the tone in Arthur's voice told Alfred he really did, and that he'd better not question it. "But once...just once I'd like to go to sleep without having to worry about what we're going to eat the next day, or that are we even going to eat at all."

Alfred felt a little guilty at that, even though he knew he shouldn't, and lowered his head. He knew he hadn't chosen the easiest way of life, but that had never meant Arthur had needed to follow him around like this. Alfred did admit he enjoyed the man's company, and it was a lot better than travelling alone, but he just couldn't understand why Arthur was still by his side like this. Their tasks were never quite easy; they often faced danger and, like Arthur himself had stated, went hungry. Still, Arthur stayed and never said anything to even suggest that he wanted to leave, just that they could've chosen an easier way. Alfred never understood it, but then again, it was just one of the many things he didn't understand about the mystery that was Arthur. Because that's what Arthur was to him: a total mystery.

Alfred himself had grown up in the quiet countryside, far away from most civilization, in a small village. He had lived there in a small hut with his mother and little brother, farming the small piece of land they owned. They had been rather poor though, hardly had enough to eat, and eventually his mother had been forced to give up one of her children. It had been Alfred's brother Mattie, who Alfred couldn't even remember that well, to be given up. Alfred had been five then. He could no longer remember his brother's face, just the hot tears streaming down his face as he ran and Mattie's screams of "Al!" from the cart that took him away.

It had been by then that Alfred had realised such a life was not the one right for him. His mother, too, had since then always told him to leave the place he had grown up in when he got old enough, and Alfred had. His mother had died when he was sixteen, having been sickly for quite some time, and after the proper burial ceremonies, Alfred had fled.

He had went his way alone for the first year, travelling and doing tasks of helping people whenever he could, eventually deciding to make a living out of it. Then, on the night he turned seventeen, he had decided to celebrate his birthday with a pint or two in the bar of the city where he had been staying in at the time. That's where he'd met Arthur, a waiter and a part-time musician training to become a self-taught wizard. And right when he'd looked into his greener than green eyes, Alfred had known Arthur needed his help. He had come back the next day, and asked Arthur to leave on the road with him, even though he himself couldn't quite name why. And as surprised as he had been, and as long as it had taken Alfred to convince the other man, he had left with him.

Already during their first days together, Alfred had realised just how big of a mystery Arthur was. He was, putting it in the nicest way possible, a very clumsy with the magic he was trying to learn. You never knew when his spells might work and when not, and if they did work, you never could be sure what they would do. One time when he had been trying to summon fire on the mountains, it had started snowing instead. And he could play guitar, among with piano and harp, like an angel. This was quite odd, because those were the instruments of the rich and noble families. Unless you were a musician's child, it was highly unusual for you to know how to play even one of those said instruments. Arthur also knew the poisons and antitoxins like the back of his hand, which had proved to be quite useful. Whenever one of them had got hurt, Arthur had always managed to find the right herbs to cure the wounds quicker and spare both of them from infections. That also was nothing a child of a lower class would've known. There was also that one time, when Alfred had accidentally found a silver pendant among Arthur's things, which had had his name engraved on it. Arthur hadn't told him what it was, just that he had got it from his mother.

The pendant had been silver, the most valuable substance known in this land. It was clear Arthur wasn't some poor man looking for his luck like Alfred was. So who was he then? Alfred didn't know, and he'd never asked. He was expecting Arthur to tell him when he was ready. Still, it sometimes was quite frustrating that he didn't really know anything about the man who was supposed to be his closest companion. Hell, he didn't even know Arthur's last name, or if he even had one.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Arthur's voice broke through Alfred's musings. He felt his cheeks flush slightly, having been caught spacing out. He hadn't even noticed Arthur had started playing again, this time a softer, sadder melody. For some reason it made Alfred think of his childhood, of Mother and Mattie, and their little village. But before he could go back into thinking, Arthur cleared his throat, reminding him the shorter man was still waiting for an answer.

Of course, Alfred couldn't say he had been thinking about Arthur. That would've sounded odd no matter what way he would've put it. So he put in a little white lie. And it wasn't really a lie, he had been thinking about it too, just not when Arthur had asked:

"Err...just pondering about my childhood. I guess I can kind of understand the feelings of that guy who sent us that assignment. I used to have a brother too."

Arthur playing stopped right there, and he looked into Alfred with a surprise. "You did?"

"Yeah. His name was Mattie, but we were so poor that eventually Mother just couldn't feed us both, and she had to give him up. I still don't know whatever happened to him after that."

"I'm...sorry, I guess?" Arthur said, clearly a little lost in a situation like this, feeling awkward and not knowing what to say. But for some reason, Alfred only found him endearing like this.

"Naw, don't be sorry. I can't really even remember what he looked like, I was so little then. But I just hope that wherever he went and ended up, he's happy." He laughed humourlessly. "I sometimes wonder if Mother sent him, and not me, away because she loved him more or less than me. In a way it was an act of love and kindness, since he wouldn't have to go hungry again, but...Mattie wasn't very happy about leaving, as you can probably guess. It did take him away from us, his family, after all."

"Have you ever wished that you, you know, could see him again?" For some reason, Arthur's voice was trembling slightly as he said this. It was really so slight that if Alfred didn't spent so much time with him every day, he probably wouldn't have heard it.

"Well, obviously. It was one of the reasons I began travelling in the first place." Alfred admitted. "But of course I didn't realise how big this world really is, and Mattie could technically be just about anywhere. And I don't even know if he remembers me anymore, or if he hates me because he got sent away and I got to stay but...I still hope I could meet him somehow, someday...because, you know, we're a family?"

For some reason, those words made Arthur smile quite sorrowfully. His eyes looked a few shades darker as well. Alfred had seen him like this a few times before, like when he had asked him about that pendant of his, and they always gave him the unexplainable urge to hug him.

"Family, huh..." Arthur murmured so quietly that Alfred was quite sure he hadn't been meant to hear that, so he had the decency not to say anything more. Thus, he just waited for Arthur to get himself back together in silence.

In a moment, the green-eyed male did, but from the next words from his lips, Alfred knew this conversation wasn't over yet: "It's great you still care about him so much, even though you don't even know him...my brothers and I never got along like that."

It was Alfred's turn to be surprised. "You've got brothers too?" He hadn't really meant to ask, but the knowledge of that had caught him completely off-guard. The fact Arthur had told him about it was even more shocking.

"Yeah...I have four. But we don't get along nor see each other."

Arthur was obviously uncomfortable about this conversation, so Alfred felt he needed to put an ice-breaker in: "Wow, you've got a big family...do they all share your eyebrows?"

Arthur blinked, and his began face turning several shades of red with embarrassment and fury.

"Y-you git!" he yelled and threw his backpack at Alfred, who easily docked it. "L-let's not talk about this anymore, okay? It's late and we need to sleep and wake up early tomorrow!"

Alfred couldn't argue with that, and hadn't been planning to, so he began digging through his backpack for his sleeping bag, and after finding it, he laid it on the ground. He took off his shoes and slipped inside it, seeing Arthur do the same on the other side of the fire, but he was resting on his side, not facing him.

"Well, good night then, Arthur." Alfred wished him.

"Yeah...good night." Arthur mumbled as an answer.

Alfred laid back, and supported his head with his arms, looking at the stars in the clear sky above through the thick tree branches. Yes, Arthur was a mystery, but Alfred knew by now that it was his job to figure out that mystery. Wasn't that what heroes like himself did? They helped people like Arthur, who were obviously in some sort of distress. And it wasn't like he was in a hurry. He had all the time in the world to figure out the mystery that was Arthur.

Subconsciously Alfred began humming a lullaby his mother had used to sing to him and Mattie as small children, and he hardly realised Arthur didn't tell him to cut that out before he was near the end. And even then, Arthur didn't sound to be too serious about his demand. His voice was shaking again when he did, and looking back later, Alfred realised he had probably been crying.

* * *

Heh ^^. Writing this was kind of awesome actually, and to be frank I'm pretty happy with it. I just love AUs so much! This could easily be turned into a longer story, before or after these events, but if I know one thing about myself it's that I'm bad at committing myself to a longer story. So this is probably all. I hope you enjoyed it anyway, and that I got the characterizations okay. And yes, a random ending is random ^^;.

Yeah, Alfred didn't have glasses even though his eyesight is bad. He simply can't afford a pair. And Arthur plays guitar just because I find guitar-playing men extremely attractive XD.


	2. Chapter 2

...It's times like this that I honestly think I'm either a masochist or crazy. Or both! I honestly wasn't planning to do more for this one, but everyone asked for it and I've been playing with the ideas ever since I wrote it for the Sweethearts Week...so I continued after all. And lost a bit sleep planning plotlines.

Anyway, enjoy, and thank you all who commented and encouraged me to continue!

* * *

Alfred woke up when the morning breeze tickled his nose. At first he didn't feel like getting up, knowing it was most likely still pretty early, but he could hear Arthur's light steps on the grass nearby, and a few splashes of water, most likely caused by his companion washing his face. That was when he knew he'd be woken up pretty soon anyway, so it was all the same to get up on his own rather than Arthur poking him with his foot.

And so, he opened his eyes, only to be proven right. The sun had yet to properly rise and the forest was bathing in misty morning twilight. The sky above was red with the rays of its awakening bringer of brightness, giving the forest an almost magical feeling with the way it was painted almost completely red and orange. It was still a bit chilly too, as Alfred's breath froze in the air as he sat up.

"Good mornining, sleepyhead." Arthur's voice came from nearby. He was drying his face with a towel in one hand, his bangs still dripping a bit wet from their recent morning wash, and carrying a wooden bucket in the other hand. His clothes were wrinkly from sleep, and there was still some dark rings left under his eyes, but somehow he still managed to look surprisingly charming to Alfred in the morning glow.

"'Morning." Alfred murmured and yawned, still a bit out of it. The fire had gone out at night, which was to be expected.

"Here. Wash your face." Arthur said, tossing the younger man the wooden bucket and the towel. One spell Arthur managed with most of the time was the water spell. It came really handy if they happened to be in the middle of nowhere with no water around, like now, Alfred mused to himself as he splashed the cool water from the bucket on his face.

"I wish I could take a shower too..." he muttered under his breath while drying his face. It had been ages since he'd last showered. Arthur smiled sympathetically at him.

"Me too. But I wouldn't recommend it. Even if we are in the South, it's still early spring, and the mornings are quite cool. You'd only catch a cold if you were wet out here."

"I know, I know. But when we get to Romanum I'm going to take the longest bath ever."

"Don't mind if I join you there."

They chuckled softly at each other, before wordlessly starting to put away their sleeping bags. They had eaten the rest of their food yesterday, so they would have to go without breakfast. Most likely this would be another day of hunger for them, as they were pretty much broke at the moment and wouldn't be able to buy food even when they reached Romanum City. Alfred sighed to himself as his stomach growled. It really wasn't easy sometimes, living like this.

Finishing, he threw his bag on in back, waiting for Arthur to do the same. Romanum wasn't far, they'd be there in some three hours, when they were supposed to meet their new employer. Alfred's assigments always included the basic information of the mission, among with the place and time to meet the one asking for help. This one had asked them to meet him in a bar called "Belle&Beauties" 10 AM sharp.

The assigment this time was quite mysterious, and Alfred had to admit he was kind of curious to see what was going to happen. The assigment had been pretty vague, and it hadn't exactly been signed either. It seemed like their new employer was quite secretative.

"Let's go." Arthur's voice spoke, drawing Alfred back to this world. He nodded to the shorter man and they began walking towards the right direction.

Alfred wondered if he should say something, like ask Arthur how he was feeling after his blow yesterday, but quickly decided against it. The silence was just so comfortable between them, and he didn't want to ruin it by talking about awkward topics. Instead, he began humming on a random tune, making it up as he went. After a while, Arthur joined him.

Arthur was almost as good at singing as he was playing music, but he sang a lot more rarely. During the two years Alfred had known him, he'd only heard Arthur sing or hum only a few times. It was a bit sad, really, he thought. It was such a waste of talent. Just like Arthur's musician skills.

They kept humming together, smiling at each other once in a while. The sun slowly rose, making the air warmer, and slowly the forest roads began turning into streets made of stones. There were houses around them as well. Bigger houses were ahead, and Alfred knew they had reached the suburban area of Romanum City. Gazing at the sun, he could tell the time was about nine in the morning. Arthur had stopped humming, and Alfred followed his example, taking interest in the people on the streets instead. There were shopkeepers and bartenders serving their first clients of today, children chasing each other on the streets, friends gossipping together and a lot of street performers from musicians to street dancers. Romanum City was full of life and noise, as well as wonderful smell of freshly-baked bread which made Alfred's mouth water.

"Impressed?" Arhur asked.

Alfred chuckled sheepishly, turning to look at his companion. "A little. I'm kind of surprised, though. I never imagined Romanum to be quite like _this_."

"What did you expect, then?"

"I don't know...something more quiet I guess. I mean, you hear Romanum being called the "holiest city" all the time, so I guess I just expected something...calmer. Like people who attend to church and pray everywhere." He turned to take a look at the city again. "But this city...it's so _alive_."

Arhur snorted sofly. "Romanum may be the holiest city, but it's also the happiest. The people here in the South have it so well...plenty of sunglight, a temperate climate, and famous culture. Plus, their rulers have been kind and caring since forever ago, and they provide their citizens before anything else. They even get free schooling here!"

Hearing that, Alfred was quite surprised. He knew of the good reputation of the South, of course, but free schooling was almost too impressive. He himself barely knew how to read, as that was mostly the priviledge of the rich and the noble. He managed just barely enough to know what his short assigments said. His mother had taught him when he'd been little, but she hadn't been very good at reading herself, so it had been hard. Alfed also couldn't write, and could barely count. Arthur on the other hand, seemed to be pretty good at reading, something that only added to his mysteriousness.

They stopped briefly to ask for directions, which were given to them by a man tending a fruit booth. Belle&Beauties wasn't far anymore, and they quickly reached it. It was a quite cramped bar filled with noise and customers. There were plenty of round tables, around which the customers, mostly men, sat, drank, ate and/or played cards. Some were smoking. There wasn't much light either, asides from the performing stage up in the front. It was filled with spotlight, although no one was currently on it.

"Can I help you somehow?" Came a female voice, and both men turned to see a pretty blonde woman with dark green eyes and wavy blonde locks that were decorated with a red ribbon tied into a bow behind her neck. She was standing behind the counter and wearing a black and white uniform, so she was most likely the bar's owner, Belle.

"Um, no thanks. We're just waiting for someone..." Alfred began, but seeing Belle motion him to come closer, he leaned over the counter so she could whisper to him.

"Are you the investigator pair, scheduled to meet someone at 10?" Belle asked.

"Y-yeah, that's us." Alfred whispered back.

Belle leaned away, and gave them a spirited smile. "Come on then. Your employer is waiting for you at the backroom. You're a bit early, but so was he, so I'm pretty sure he won't mind." She montined them to follow her, earning some protests from the men sitting on the side being served of the counter. She apologised to them, and told them she'd be back soon.

Alfred and Arthur followed Belle to the backroom, where a shortish and slim man with blonde, shoulder-lenght and straight hair, and sharp forest green eyes was waiting, leaning against a wall. He was dressed in a green button-up uniform coat, grayish pants and brown tall boots. On his back he carried a large, quite thretening-looking brown rifle.

Noticing he had company, he looked up, but didn't say anything yet. His eyes and gaze were knife-sharp, and it seemed like he was judging, measuring them. It sent shivers down Alfred's spine.

"Come along then." He finally said, turning to walk towards the back door. His voice was just as sharp as his gaze. Alfred quickly excused himself to Belle, while Arthur just nodded, and they followed the shortish man out. Outside, a carriage made of dark wood and pulled by horses was waiting. On its driver's position was an old, grayed man. There were no windows in the carriage.

The slim blonde, still unnamed, opened the carriage door.

"Get in." he said, and Alfred and Arthur did, knowing that they should hurry as long as the short blonde had a gun at his hands. They sat on one bench inside. The anonymous man told the driver to start the carriage before stepping inside himself. He closed the carriage door behind himself and sat on the bench opposite to the investigator pair.

The horse-drawn rigshaw began moving, but anyone still didn't say anything. The apparent employer was sitting with his arms and legs crossed, eyes closed and brows drawn together in a frown. Alfred wondered if he should say or ask something, but eyeing the rifle he decided it wouldn't be too wise. Meeting Arthur's gaze, he could tell his companion was thinking the same thing, from the way his face was tightened in nervousness. And so the ride went on in an awkward silence. Since there were no windows, there was way to tell where they were going, either. But from the way the carriage began leaning towards its later half in one point told them they were going uphill.

Soon after the hill ended, the carriage also stopped. The anonymous man stood up and opened the carriage door before stepping out. Alfred and Arthur followed his example.

What they came to see was the yard of a wast castle with high towers made of pure white stone, which glittered in the sunlight. The yard itself was large and made of stone, aside from the trees and flowers which grew here and there. In the middle there was also a beautiful water fountain. Their new employer must be made of money!

But wait a minute...the noblity did have large homes, but they lived in mansions, not castles! The only ones to get a castle were the eight rulers of the eight territories!

Not able to hold back his tongue anymore, Alfred turned to the man who had bought them here. "Hey, what-?"

"Later. Now, follow me." The man cut him off, and once more the tone of his voice left no choice for arguments. Alfred gave Arthur a nervous glance, only to see the older man had pulled his cloak's hood over his head and kept his gaze downwards. Shrugging it off, Alfred began following the nameless man.

He led them up the main steps and inside the castle doors. The insides of the caslte were just as impressive as the outside. The entrance hall had a high ceiling with ivory white pillars to support it, many doors on left and right, a floor made of purest marble and up in the front a large staircase to the second floor.

"Lili." the slim man let out a surprisingly gentle call. Now everyone's attention was turned on a lithe girl carrying a basket full of clothes, apparently to be taken to wash. She was petite with equally slim body to her caller, and bore an otherwise striking reseble to him as well, up to even a similar hairstyle. Her haircolour was a darker shade of blonde though, and she had a dark blue ribbon tied in her hair on the right side of her head. Her eyes were also much warmer and more inviting than the man's. She wore a dark pink dress with a white apron over it.

"Oh, brother, you're back already!" She spoke with a gentle voice, approaching the three. She then turned to look at Alfred and Arthur. They both had to admit she was adorable, in a very little sister-ish manner. "You must be the investigators who are to find Lord Lovino. Good day to you. My name is Lili Zwingli, I am one of the servant girls here." She gave them a small bow with her head, before turning to the man next to her. "This is my brother, Vash. But you probably knew that already."

"Uhh...actually, we didn't." Alfred said, scratching his cheek with embarrassment.

The girl named Lili's eyes widened, before she turned to her brother with scolding look in her eyes. "Shame on you, brother! Haven't you told these gentlemen anything? They are only trying to help."

"I couldn't risk anyone overhearing. This is supposed to be a secret." Despite Vash being defensive, the tone of his voice was still a bit gentler when he spoke to her.

Lili turned to look at the investigator pair again. "I am sorry for the inconvinience. I welcome you to the Vargas Family Castle, gentlemen."

It took a moment for Alfred to register the new information. "V-Vargas? You mean the ruler family of the South area? _That_ Vargas?"

"You know any other Vargases with big castles like this?" Lili smiled. Then, she frowned. "About a month ago, our next ruler-to-be, Lord Lovino, went missing. Your task here is to find him. I'm sorry you've been kept in the dark so badly, but the information about about him disappearing is classified. We can't tell that to just about anyone. People would panic if they knew. They are restless as it is because of our previous ruler's recent death, may God have mercy on his soul."

"Then...you're not our employers?"

"Of course not, idiot!" Vash blurted out. "Your real employer, the one who sent you the assigment, is our Master Feliciano. But it would've been bad if he had been seen by someone while fetching you, so I went instead." He blinked a few times, looking around himself, before turning to his sister again. "Where is that idiot, anyway?"

"He's been in the chapel since this morning. Lord Ludwig is with him though, so it should be alright."

Vash face-palmed, clearly annoyed. "That brainless fool. The least he could do is to be present when his guests arrive." Alfred found it slightly unnerving that someone spoke of his lord like that. "I'll go fetch him. It might take a while though, so why don't you show the guests their rooms, Lili?"

"Count on me, brother!" Lili smiled. Vash even returned the smile, before he turned to leave. Lili then turned to look at the two men once more. "If you'll be so kind and follow me, gentlemen, and I'll show you to your rooms. There is also a bath ready for you. The water might be a bit hot though, as we weren't expecting you to arrive this early." she said as she began walking towards the main staircase. The two men slowly followed her.

"Y-you really don't have to go through all the trouble..." Alfred began, eyeing the laundry basket the girl was carrying. Arthur was uncharastetically silent.

Lili just smiled more. "It's no trouble at all! Master Feliciano himself asked me to look after you while he prays. Master usually takes care of his guests himself, but today morning he was a little discaught and felt the need to pray in order to calm himself." Her smile faltered suddenly, and she sighed. "And with all that he's been through, you can hardly blame him."

Alfred nodded. "It must be tough, losing both his father and brother so closely together."

Lili turned her head to look at him. "Oh, the previous lord wasn't Master Feliciano and Lord Lovino's father. He was their grandfather. Their father, the son of the previous lord, died before the brothers reached the age of one, among with his wife, their mother."

"Wow...that must be tough." Alfred gasped softly, remembering his own mother, as they reached the end of the stairs and Lili led them to the left.

"I'm sure it was. And still, Master Feliciano has always managed to stay good and kind. His hardships haven't corrupted him. Even now, though he's clearly sad and hurting, he carries on for us, his people." She now opened a door that led to a corridor full of more doors. It looked like a hotel corridor, rather than a castle one. "He hasn't even cried after the funeral. All he does is lock himself into the castle ground's personal chapel and pray there. But I suppose that is just his way of handling grief." She stopped. "Oh, here we are. Rooms 187 and 186 of the West Wing. The bathroom is the last door on the left, you may get in anytime. There are bathrobes in the closets of your rooms. Please enjoy your stay, and if you need anything, just push the white button on your nightstand and wait." She gave them a little bow. "I must get back to work. Now if you'll excuse me..." she hurried away.

Alfred looked her go until she left the corridor, and then turned to his companion, and smiled at him. "Well, shall we bathe, then?"

Arthur nodded inside his hood. "Yes please."

They both opened their doors and entered their rooms, and Alfed had to gasp just a little at what he saw. The room was spacey with a big and very soft-looking bed. The floor was covered in soft green mat, there were two wall-long windows on the wall opposite to him, surrounded by thick, heavy and dark green curtains. On his left there was a large closet made out of dark wood. Without thinking much anything else, Alfred put aside his things and threw himself on the bed, making sure to keep his feet off it so it wouldn't get dirty from his boots. It felt just as comfortable as it looked, and the sheets smelt wonderfully clean and fresh-washed. The whole room was way better than the second-rate inns he and Arthur usually stayed in. Though he was a little surprised their employer was willing to go as far as to host them, he certainly wasn't complaining.

He lay there for a few moments, and would've liked to fall asleep right there and then, but he knew Arthur was waiting for him. And so, after a while, he stood up, drew the curtains and took a white, clean bathrobe from the room's closet. He stripped and set his clothes on his bed before pulling the robe on. It was soft and fit well; it had a faint flowery scent on it.

He slowly left the room, and walked the corridor to its end where the last door on the left was open, telling Alfred Arthur was already in. He stepped inside a changing room where a single white robe similar to his own hung in a hanger on the bar near the ceiling, among with more empty hangers. Alfred took one, slipped out of his robe and hung it up. Then he opened the door made out of blurred glass at the end of the room.

And was immediately hit on the head with something.

"Idiot! Don't just barge in here without as much as a single knock on the door!" Arthur's loud and currently a little squaky voice ran through the room. He was already in the large tub, arms crossed over his chest forming an X, and looking flushed, though that was probably just due the heat of the water.

Rubbing his forehead, Alfred looked around the room, straining his eyes. It was a large, beautiful room made out of the same marble as the entrance hall of the castle, white pillars and sculptures of naked and beautiful people all around. The bathtub itself was as large as a swimming pool, though the water in it was slightly green. The scent in the air told Alfred it was due to herbs mixed in the water.

"What the hell is your problem, Art?! You had absolutely no reason to hit me!" Alfred then yelled, picking up the item Arthur had hit him with, which turned out to be a soap, before walking over to the tub. He tried the water with his foot, testing its warmth before hopping in with a small splash. The water reached his waist while standing, so he sat down.

"Don't you have any descency? What if I hadn't been in, yet? And why don't you have as much as a towel on?!" Arthur screamed, his voice becoming high-pitched in a way that told Alfred he was embarrassed. The way his face kept becoming redder was a proof of that too.

"Then I wouldn't have seen anything I haven't seen before. And it's not like you haven't seen me in my birthday suit before either."

"I-idiot!"

"No, I'm serious Artie." Alfred began, his voice turning more playful and teasing. It was just too hard to be seriously angry with Arthur when he was this embarrassed, and for no reason, too! Besides, teasing him like this was just too much fun. "We've bathed together, how many times? I've seen you naked, and you've seen me. We always wash each other's hair, too! So stop being so embarrassed, Mr. Prude." He splashed a little bit of water on Arthur's face with hid hand.

"S-shut up!" Arthur yelled, rubbing his now-wet eyes and splashing water back on Alfred's face.

Alfred grinned, and splashed back, this time with more water. "Arthur is a pruuude!" he sang.

"And you're an idiot!" Arthur yelled, and splashed again.

* * *

"Admit it, you had fun." Alfred teased Arthur later, while sitting on a small stool that had been in the room as the other man washed his hair with the shampoo they had also found. Their splashing had eventually escalated into a major water fight, before they had both grown too weary in the hot water and called it an even. It had been nice though, to blow some steam and have fun at the same time.

"...Fine, so I did." Arthur grunted. "But I'm still glad the tub is so big and we didn't make much mess. It would be troublesome to our hosts." He stopped rubbing the shampoo into Alfred's hair, and grabbed the bucket full of warm water next to him. "I'll pour water on you now, so close your eyes."

Alfred did, and the warm water washed the shampoo off his hair. He rubbed the water off his eyes and brushed his wet bangs off his face with his hand.

He stood up. "Okay, now it's my turn to do you!"

For some reason, Arthur slapped him.

* * *

This chapter was a bit of a filler, but if I had included all the other stuff in it as well, it would've become way too long, so I ended up cutting it in half.

Most likely the story will be some ten chapters long, give or take a few, if I manage to make it to the end. Right now I'm determinated and the summer is coming too, but...well, I know me. I often don't finish ^^;.

I really need to change the title and the summary...they worked when this was still a one-shot, but now...I need to come up with something new. I'm also trying to stick in as many characters as possible.

The rating may vary by chapter, but it won't go past PG-15.

About the Mpreg later: It won't be too serious. I won't even really show it, only talk about it and have children running around. It's really not too vital for the story, but it gives some characters more depth, and some cultural things in the world where the characters live in more sense. But if even that much of it bothers you, then it's not my problem.

I hope I did okay with the characterization. I love the _Hetalia_ characters to death, but they are so hard to write! I hope I did them at least some justice.


	3. Chapter 3

Well, school's over where I'm living, and it naturally makes me happy ^^. I'm sorry this took me a while, but after I'd posted the previous chapter I got a terrible shyness attack and was unable to do anything that had something to do with writing. But I hope you enjoy, regardless. And thanks for the reviews/alerts/favourites, everyone!

* * *

Some time later, Alfred was lying on his bed, still in his robes. His clothes had been gone when he had come back to his room, so he hadn't been able to change. He had found a brush in the room, though, and had groomed his hair already. He wondered if Arthur had done the same. He hadn't brushed his hair for a while, though he supposed it didn't really matter, since Arthur's hair always kind of stood up regardless...

There was a sudden knock on the door.

"Come on in." Alfred said, sitting up on his bed, fixing the front of his bathrobe. Lili the servant girl stepped inside, carrying a bundle of clothes in her arms.

"I've brought your clothes, sir. I'm sorry we took them without a permission, but they looked like they could use a good wash."

Alfred blinked. "It's no problem, and thanks a lot, they really needed to be washed." he said, taking the clothes drom Lili. They had the same flowery scent as his bathrobe earlier, the old wrinkles on them were gone and they were neatly folded. "But you really didn't have to bother."

Lili smiled. "It was no bother. I told you that Master Feliciano told me to look after you. He would've asked me to do it anyway, had he been around. He always wants to make sure his guests are treated well." She turned to leave. "You should change, sir. Our Master has finally come out of the chapel, and wishes to see you. I'll wait outside."

As soon as she was gone, Alfred slipped out of his robe and quickly began pulling his clothes on. He couldn't help but wonder how they had washed and dryed them so fast, but he wasn't about to complain. His clothes hadn't been this clean and soft in ages. Finishing by putting on his boots, he left the room. Arthur was already there, waiting for him with Lili. His hood was drawn over his head once more.

Lili nodded at Alfred on him arriving. "Come on now, if you would, sirs. Follow me."

She led them off the West Wing and to the East one. The East Wing had less rooms than the West Wing, but they were apparently bigger. This was probably where the residents of this castle lived.

Lili led them to a door in the middle of the right side of the corridor. She knocked on it with her fist. "Master, the investigators are here."

"Great! Come on in!" A bright, clear and soft, yet clearly male voice came from the inside.

Lili opened the door, and the three of them stepped inside a room much larger than Alfred's guest room. But before he had time to admire it more, he was knocked out of breath by an entusiastic hug.

"Hello to you, sir investigators, and welcome!" The same voice they had heard from outside spoke to Alfred's ear, before its owner drew back from hugging a slightly bewildered Alfred, and turned to embrace Arthur instead.

"Feliciano, stop it already. Not everyone likes to be hugged at the first meeting." Came another, much deeper male voice and only now Alfred noticed the one who had hugged him wasn't the only new person in the room. Nearby, there was a tall, muscular man with light blonde hair slicked back and stren light blue eyes dressed in long, dark robes and white ascot tie.

"Hehe. Sorry Ludwig, sorry sirs!" said the second man, drawing back from an embarrassed and surprised Arthur. Only now Alfred had a chance to look at him better.

Feliciano Vargas was quite young, probably around Alfred's own age. He was slim and lithe, a bit shorter than Arthur in stature. He was surprisingly pale for a Southerner, and with short auburn hair and light brown sparkling eyes. His bangs were parted in the middle, and his hair was short and straight, aside from a very strange haircurl on the left side of his head. He was currently wearing a long deep red coat with a dark green long ascot tie, dark brown pants and some elegant leather shoes. He excused Lili, telling her she could go, and then smiled brightly at them.

"Hello to you, sirs! I'm Feliciano Vargas, the second-in-line for the South's ruler position." He motioned to the other man in the room. "And this is Ludwig from South-West, he's my fiancé! I'd tell you his last name, but I'm afraid I'd just spell it wrong!"

Alfred couldn't hold back a smile. Feliciano Vargas was quite different from what he had expected. He had always thought the rulers of the eight territories would be distant and upstuck, but Feliciano seemed very open and friendly, just like Lili had told them. He spoke to them like they were old friends, despite the fact they were from different social classes.

"I'm Alfred Jones, nice to meet you. That's Arthur, my wizard-in-training friend." Alfred introduced himself. Arthur just nodded. Most of him was hidden under his cloak at the moment. The hood covered his hair and even his massive eyebrows, and with his head bent like that even his eyecolour seemed a bit darker shade of green. And it was a bit odd to have him be so quiet. "So...what exactly did you call us for?"

The look on Feliciano's face suddenly became grim. "My brother Lovino disappeared about a month ago. I need you to find him as soon as possible. He was supposed to take over the ruler position after Grandpa's death, but the day after the funeral, he was nowhere to be found. People are growing more and more restless, and I think many have their suspicions already. We've been telling them that Lovi is ill and can't come out, but most either don't buy it or think he's dying."

"So this could technically lead to a local crisis?" Arthur's voice spoke. But was it Alfred or did his voice sound a bit deeper than usual?

"Unfortunately, yes." Feliciano's fiancé Ludwig replied, a strange look on his face as he stared at Arthur intently. Arthur avoided the gaze. "It could lead to a revolution, at worst. And people are mistrusting of Lovino as it is, they hardly need to know he has vanished just when he was supposed to take on his duties as well."

"Right." Alfred said, turning to speak to Feliciano. "Could you tell us some more about your brother? Did he act strangely before he disappeared, or anything like that? Don't leave anything out, even the smallest detail can be useful."

"I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, at least." Feliciano said, after thinking for a while. "Lovi was kind of cranky and fell asleep during our lessons, but that's really not anything out of the ordinary. He's always cranky and falls asleep anywhere. He did it a bit more than usual some months before Grandpa's death, but I didn't really think anything of it. Grandpa was ill after all, I just thought Lovi had lost sleep worrying about him. I know I did."

"How did he react to your grandfather's death?" Arthur asked, his voice still slightly deeper than usual.

"He didn't cry at all, not at his deathbed or at the funeral. But that's not unusual either. Lovi doesn't really like to show his feelings when there are people seeing. I thought I should give him some time to grieve when he didn't come down for breakfast the morning after the funeral, but when I went to check up on him afterwards, he was gone! I'm scared that he's been kidnapped or something! I have my own men looking for him, but it's been a month already, and they haven't found him! You are my only hope!" He was starting to become slightly hysterical, and his shoulders were trembling. He also had tears of desperation in his eyes. Ludwig put his large hands on the smaller man's shoulders comfortingly from behind, surprisingly gently for such a stern-looking man, and placed a small kiss on the back of Feliciano's head.

"Easy now, Feli. I'm sure they'll do their best." He mumbled into the brunette's hair, so quietly it was barely audible.

It took a moment for Feliciano to calm down, before he wiped his eyes with his fingers and smiled at the investigator pair sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me..."

"No, no, it's fine!" Alfred hurried to say. "It must be hard for you, since your grandfather just died, and now your brother is missing as well..."

Feliciano said nothing, but sniffed and gave him a small grateful smile.

"When you came to see your brother the day he disappeared, was there anything out of place you noticed in his room? Like, something other than himself missing? Clothes, photos, things like that?" Arthur then questioned.

Feliciano shook his head. "No. All was normal, aside from the fact Lovi wasn't in here. Yes, this is his room. I thought you might want to see it, though my men already looked it through. It hasn't been touched since they were here, it's just the way it was when I came here that day."

"Were the windows closed that day too?"

"Yes they were. Why? Are you suggesting Lovi might've run away?"

"It is a possibilty, as unfortunate as it is." Alfred nodded, looking around the room. "If the room was this clean, it's unlikely he was kidnapped, since that would've probably caused some mess if Lord Lovino tried to fight back. Unless he was drugged in his sleep, which is also a possibility."

"Do you have a photo of your brother? It'd be useful if we knew what he looked like." Arthur then said to Feliciano.

"Of course. I'll go get some." He left the room. The investigators turned to his fiancé.

"We need to be quick, so please cooperate with us and speak the truth." Arthur spoke to him.

"Why do you need to question me?" Ludwig asked, somewhat taken back.

"They are brothers, so Feliciano might lie in his own or his brother's favour. We need to speak to someone else about certain manners." Alfred explained, as quickly as he could. "Now, what kind of relationship do the brothers have?"

"Well, Feliciano loves Lovino a lot, as you've probably noticed. But Lovino's...well...nicely said, he's not the easiest person to get along with. Telling you he's cranky is pretty much putting it lightly. He's always kind of angry and yelling and cursing, not acting like his position demands at all. That's also the reason I suggested Feliciano that if he really wants Lovino to be found, he should ask someone who is not so emotionally involved to help. I don't think the palace's staff would be that eager to find him, since he's so mean to all of them. He's nasty to everyone, and Feliciano is no exception. In fact, Lovino's always been really jealous to Feliciano, everyone knows that."

"How come?"

"Well, everyone's pretty much always liked Feliciano better. Many actually want him to be the next ruler, because he's so loved and sort of follows the code of the Vargases in being understanding and generous. And with the way the brothers are, who can blame them? Feliciano is pretty much as sweet as sugar, and Lovino insead is as sour as a citron. It's kind of a vicious circle, really...everyone loves Feliciano and showers him with affection and gifts, and Lovino gets jealous and angry because of it, which makes people resent him even more. Even if you shouldn't speak ill of the dead, I have to say it was bad enough their grandfather played favourites, but that it had to continue with others as well..."

"Seems like you know what you're talking about." Alfred commented.

Ludwig shrugged. "Well, I've known both of the brothers since we were all very little. Feliciano and I are childhood friends. Our grandfathers were good friends, and the friendly relationships between our territories are important to both sides, so I was always sent here to play and make acquintance with the Vargas twins, so the friendly realtionships would stay friendly. Feliciano and I were pretty good friends, but Lovino always kind of resented me. He resents pretty much everyone though, so it doesn't really matter."

"Did Lord Lovino have any lovers or suitors? Anyone he might've wanted to run away with?" Alfred asked.

"Not that I know of. Not to say Lovino is bad-looking. He has had some people pursuing him over the years because of his looks and status, but his personality has pretty much scared them off. Besides, I doubt Lovino wouldn't know when people don't want him for something other than the power he has."

Just then, the door opened, and Feliciano stepped in, a framed photo in hand.

"Sorry I took so long. The servants had put this away from its normal position while cleaning and it took me a while to find it." He said, handing Alfred the framed photo in his hand. Arthur looked at it too, over his companion's shoulder.

The photo portrayed a slightly younger-looking Feliciano sitting in a chair, wearing a long, deep blue coat with lighter blue collar and the end of the sleeves. His pants and shirt under the coat were white, among with his ascot tie. His tall boots were shiny black, and he was smiling happily to the camera. Next to him was a young man looking incredibly like Feliciano, but his bangs parted slightly more on the left, his curl pointed right instead of left and his coat was green instead of blue. Also, his hair was darker auburn than Feliciano's, and his eyes hazel. And Alfred very much doubted Feliciano was ever seen with such a sour expression.

Arthur looked like he was about to say something, but a loud growl that came from Alfred's stomach interrupted him. He blushed, and apologised, although he knew he couldn't help being hungry.

"Have you not eaten? Why didn't you say so! Let's go to dining hall and I'll treat you some early dinner!" Feliciano smiled.

"Y-you really don't have to bother..." Alfred began, although he was feeling it would be useless. Besides, why was he refusing free food?

"It's no bother! We can as well discuss things over food. Come on!"

* * *

The food had been delicious, Alfred had to give them that. It had been a while since he'd eaten this well, so he honestly felt happier than he had for a while, with his stomach full and his clothes clean. However there hadn't really been anything more to be found out about Lovino Vargas. Alfred and Arthur had learnt he enjoyed sleeping, eating and singing when he thought no one was listening, liked pasta and Southern ice cream named gelato (Feliciano also) and hated studying and showing his feelings. But nothing hardly relevant. So they decided to do the next best thing and look through his room. Even if it had been searched by Feliciano's men, there might be some little detail they might've missed. Besides, if Ludwig's words were anything to go by, they might've found something but just hadn't told Feliciano.

So far, however, they hadn't really had any luck in finding any clues. There was a closet full of expensive-looking clothes, sheets of apparently self-written music and some failed-looking drawings hidden under the bed and some novels on the working desk, but nothing more unusual than that. That is, until Alfred looked under the working desk, and saw a little piece of paper stuck between the desk and the wall. Carefully, he reached for it, and looked at it. His eyes brightened. This could be the key to the case!

"Hey, Art, come look at this."

Arthur, who had been investigating the back of the bed, looked up and walked over to him. Alfred handed him the thin, small piece of paper. It was a receit.

"'Belle&Beauties'?" Arthur read the receit out loud. According to the date on it, it was about a month and a half old, and considred a bottle of red wine, a sandwich and a little bit of whiskey.

"Look at the back."

Arthur turned the receit around. On its back, there was a small message written in an a slightly messy handwriting:

"_Dearest Romano,_

_I want you to know I'm still yours. And I'm willing to wait as long as you need me to._

_With all my love,_

_-A."_

"We need to show this to Lord Feliciano." Arthur said.

* * *

"'Romano'? Who is this 'Romano'?" Feliciano asked, his voice confused after they'd showed him the receit.

"We can't be sure of course, but our theory is that your brother used to go to the city under a false name and indentitety for some reason. He probably met someone there, this 'A' person, and left with him or her after your grandfather's death. It's only a hypothesis, of course, but it's also our only clue so far. And I'm sure the bartender of Belle&Beauties can tell us something." Alfred explained, hardly managing to control his excitment.

"Would it have been possible for Lord Lovino to go outside without being recognised?" Arthur asked.

Feliciano thought about it for a while. "I think so, yes. Lovi and I have always beeen raised kind of inside four walls...we haven't really been allowed to go outside. Grandpa had been really protective of us since Papa and Mama died. Most people don't even really know what Lovi and I look like, other than our most basic features. And all in all, Lovi's appearance is pretty avarage for a Southerner – brown hair, slightly tanned skin and avarage height – so, yes I think it would be possible."

"Then, we might actually have a lead!" Alfred exclaimed happily, before patting Feliciano's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll find your brother for sure."

Feliciano smiled at him. "You can go looking for him tomorrow. It's getting late, and I know you've had a long day, so for now, please go and sleep."

This time Alfred didn't even feel like resisting.

* * *

I was really worried about writing Italy (I'm kind of bad when it comes to writing, well, idiots. Even if they are cute, well-meaning idiots. It just tends to feel awkward), but when I actually started on it, it turned out to be surprisingly easy. I just kind of made him the way I am when I'm really giddy and/or happy, usually when I'm with my friend, or am in the fangirl mode ^^;.


	4. Chapter 4

Next morning, after a big, nutritious and very delicious breakfast, Alfred and Arthur left to go to the city. They got a ride in a carriage to Belle&Beauties, since Vash still insisted they shouldn't be seen coming out of the palace, and the pair certainly wasn't about to complain, because the road down from the palace and back to the city was quite long. Besides, it might've been hard to refind the bar.

The pub wasn't very as full this time, there were only some ten men there drinking to their heart's content. A brunette waiter was currently cleaning the tables with a cloth while also carrying empty glasses by balancing a full tray on his other hand. The bar's pretty owner was wiping the cash counter with a clean cloth, too. Noticing them, she looked up.

"You two again? Can I help you somehow?" Belle asked.

"Yes, in fact you can." Alfred said. "Could you tell us if a young man with dark brown hair and hazel eyes used to come here, maybe two months or so ago? One with a very cranky attitude?"

Belle blinked a few times, a bit surprised by such a question, before nodding. "Yes, in fact. He used to come here all wrapped up in robes, and always ordered our most expensive wine, and then he'd yell at our waiters about them being slow. Not a pleasant customer, almost scared all the other ones away. I would've told 'im to beat it had he not paid me so well."

Alfred beamed. This was going well. He was getting pretty excited. "Did he ever talk to any other customers? Or did he have company?"

"Yes, that idiot An-" she began, but then stopped. "You know, I usually don't gossip with people who aren't my customers or friends. Buy something and I'll tell you more."

"B-but miss, you don't understand! That person is missing and we're supposed to find him! We need your information, but we've got no money..." Or, what little money they had, they didn't want to spend on beer. But he didn't want to offend her.

She smiled sympathetically at them. "I'm sorry. But I'm a businesswoman. And the person you're going to need information about is one of my regulars, and also a good friend of mine. I can't tell things about him to just anyone."

So it was a "he". But still, alone that wouldn't be enough either...

Meanwhile, Arthur was observing the stage. He turned to face Belle. "If I performed a song, would it make up for it?"

Belle blinked. "You can play?"

Arthur nodded. "So, what do you say? I'll entertain your customers and you tell us what you know."

Belle considered it, hand on her chin. "Perform the song first. If it's good enough, I'll tell you."

"Fair enough. What kind of song would you like to hear?"

She shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. We have all kinds of artists here all the time. So just take your pick."

Arthur nodded, took out his guitar from his bag, which again grew into its right size. Then, he walked over to the stage, getting the people's attention. Alfred saw him flush a bit, with all the eyes on him, but as he sat down on the wooden stool on the stage and set his guitar acorss his lap, he seemed to calm down. He began to play. The melody of his song was soft and a little sad.

You could've heard a needle drop in the bar. It was dead silent, aside from Arthur's playing. Everyone was mesmerized by his performance, and Alfred was no exception himself, for he felt his heart jump into his throat. Even though he had heard Arthur play many times, this once it seemed a bit different. It was like Arthur was putting his soul into his song, giving his all. It was almost too much. Alfred wondered what Arthur was thinking about while playing. That sort of emotion in a song didn't just come, it had to have something behind it.

After a while, Arthur finished with the final notes on his guitar. There was about three seconds' worth of silence, before the bar nearly exploded with applause. Arthur stood up, gave a little bow and left the stage. There were a lot of groans and demands for more, but Arthur ignored them all and merely walked back to Alfred and Belle.

"Good enough for you?" He smirked at Belle, who just gave a bewildered nod, still in a bit of a shock. "Your information, then?"

"R-right." She said, and cleared her throat. "Well, the cranky guy you're looking for, he sometimes would sing a piece or two here. A pretty good-voiced dude, actually, but as mentioned, he had a really bad personality. Well, anyway about three months ago, a friend of mine, Antonio Fernandez Carriedo came here. He lives a bit far away, but always comes here about once a month to buy some liqour to take with him – he's pretty fond of rum...well, that night that boy was singing here, and Antonio heard him. One song, and bam! Antonio is head over heels for him."

Alfred blinked. "Just like that?"

Belle chuckled. "Antonio has been like that since forever. He's kind of oblivious, and falls in love easily...he says it's because he's so full of passion, but in my opinion, his head is just way up in the clouds." She sighed. "I tried warning him that kid wasn't worth his time with the way he is, but of course he didn't listen. He stuck around for about a month, though he usually stays only a few days, and tried winning the kid over. He always went and talked to him when the kid came here. Earned quite a few slaps for that, too. He must've really liked the kid, though. He's dense, but not _that_ dense. Usually he understands to leave 'em alone if they don't seem to want his company. It was worth the effort, though, I guess. After a while the kid stopped hitting him and they even managed to have some civilized conversations. Another month passed, Antonio left to go back home, and I haven't seen either one of them since. Guess the kid agreed to his porposal at last."

Alfred nearly choked on his own spit. "This Antonio...he _purposed_ to that guy?"

Belle nodded. "Right on the day they met. I told you that Antonio is an idiot with his head up in the space." She did a litte spin with her index finger in the air to demonstrate.

Alfred turned to look at Arthur, and saw on his face that he was thinking the same as he was.

"Could you give us this Antonio's address?"

The way Belle smirked was up to no good. "But that wasn't a part of our deal, now was it? I was only supposed to tell you what I knew about Antonio and that kid's relationship, right? The address would be extra information, and Antonio really is a dear friend...I can't have you going to his place and stealing away his beloved just like that, can I?"

"We're not going to-" Alfred began, but Arthur's hand on his chest stopped him.

"What more do you want?" the shorter man asked the barkeeper.

Belle's smirk widened. "I'm glad we understand each other. I saw how everyone reacted to your performance a while ago, and it would awfully stupid of me to end it with just one song...perform three songs here tonight, and I'll give you Antonio's address, as well as introductions on how to get there."

"I can do that."

"You must sing too."

Arthur hesistated. "Alright. Though, how can you know I even _can_ sing?"

Belle chuckled. "Oh, I can tell. No such music could come from someone who is completely tone-deaf."

"Arthur-"

"Okay. I'll sing too." Arthur cut Alfred off. His shoulders and face were a bit tense, though.

"_But_," Belle said, and now there was a scary gleam in her eyes, which sent shivers down Alfred's spine. "there is one more condition."

* * *

"No, no and no. Absolutely not. I refuse." Arthur ranted, trying to remain calm, arms crossed over his chest.

Alfred had to agree. Belle had led them to the bar's backroom, where she'd shown them the final condition for her information. Which had been that, while singing, Arthur would only be allowed to wear a small black apron arund his waist, among with a white collar, matching shirt cuffs, and a black bowtie. Other than those items, he'd have to be completely naked. Not even underwear was allowed. She claimed it would bring more customers, and while Alfred agreed on that, there was no way he was having his friend go up on that stage in front of all those ravenous people almost completely bare.

Belle smiled devilishly at them. "Suit yourselves. Good luck finding Antonio, then. And if you excuse me now, I have to get back to work."

She exited the backroom, leaving the two men alone. They stood together in silence, feelings of disappointment between them thick. They had been so close...!

"I'm going to have to do it." Arthur's voice broke the silence.

"Arhur, are you out of your mind?" Alfred exclaimed, grabbing his friend's shoulders and looking down deep into his green eyes. "Didn't you see the way those men _stared_ at you? And that was when you were clothed! What would happen if you went up there practically naked?"

Arthur placed his own hands on the younger man's shoulders. "We have no choice. We need to find this Antonio guy. He's the only lead we have. The South is a big place, and we don't even know what he looks like. It could take us forever to find him."

"But...!" Alfred pulled his friend into an embrace, something he had never done before. "I just don't want anything to happen to you, Art..."

"Idiot." Arthur mumbled to his shoulder, but didn't push him away. "I can take care of myself."

Alfred knew there was no room left for arguments. Arthur had already made up his mind. Still, he couldn't help the strange burning feeling in his chest when he thought Arthur nearly naked in front of all those men. Hadn't seeing Arthur and hearing him sing been his priviledge alone?

* * *

The evening came, and the bar started to get crowdy. There were mostly men, but also some women. Nearly all the tables were full, and there were a lot of people sitting in front of the counter as well. In the backroom, Alfred had to wonder if it was always this crowded here, or if Belle had promoted this evening to everyone as special as he observed the situaton from the slightly opened door. Both theories made sense, really.

Arthur was changing his clothes behind the changing frames in the room. His cloak and shirt were already hung over the frames, and just now Alfred heard him step out of his boots, followed by his pants. Alfred stepped from one foot to another, starting to get nervous for some reason, and licked his suddenly dry lips. As his heart began beating faster, he told himself it was just because he was worried. Putting Arthur on the stage dressed in the outfit Belle had given was like throwing him to a pack of hungry wolves, after all.

Just then Belle entered the backroom. "Are we ready to start soon?"

"Just a second!" Arthur's voice replied from behind the frames, sounding slightly annoyed. For once, Alfred couldn't blame him for being frustrated. This had to be humiliating for his friend. There was more rustling behind the frames, probably Arthur dressing in his given garments. "Alright, I'm coming out now. And don't you dare laugh!"

Alfred's heart just about jumped into his throat as he listened Arthur's light steps coming closer. And when he actually saw his friend, laughing was just about the last thing on his mind.

Alfred could have never imagined Arthur looking like _this_ in that outfit. Even though he had seen Arthur naked often in the bath, he couldn't help that his breath got caught in his throat. Arthur looked, there was no other word for it, _sexy_. The tiny, tight black apron was tied securely around his hips, just beneath his navel. It was looking quite teasing, as if it was demanding people to pull the strings tied into a bow behind Arthur's back, and holding the garment at bay, open. The fabric barely covered anything as it stopped short at just the top of Arthur's thighs, which were unclothed.

Alfred had to mentally hit himself for even considering to try and take a peek. Even in bath, Arthur was too chaste to show absolutely _everything_. He always wore a towel around his waist, at least. But now, if you lifted the apron just a _little_ bit...

Alfred hit mentally hit himself again.

"Are we ready to start yet? I'd like to get this humiliation done as soon as possible, please." Arthur huffed, his crossed arms the only thing that covered his slim chest. Alfred guessed he was also feeling a bit chilly. It wasn't that warm in the backroom, and Arthur was also barefoot against the stone floor.

Belle smiled, almost sympathetically, though Alfred knew she wasn't going to back away now. "Of course. Let me just announce you. Mr. Jones, you have a seat reserved in the front row." Alfred nodded, as Belle left the room. Arthur grabbed his guitar from where it was stading next to the wall.

The two men kept the door slightly open to observe what was about to happen. Belle walked over to the stage, and cleared her throat to the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's the moment you've all been waiting for! Please welcome our performer of the evening, Arthur!"

There was clapping. Arthur was prepared to leave. At the last moment, Alfred grabbed his wrist, trying to convey what he was feeling without saying anything. Arthur said nothing, too, but smiled sadly at him and shook his head. Alfred let go, Arthur left.

As soon as Arthur was on the stage, Alfred went to the seat Belle pointed out for him. He was slightly uncomfortable there, as he was sharing the table with many older, drunken men, who were staring at Arthur like he was some sort of pretty object, but seeing it was the only seat available in the bar and better than watching from the backroom, he couldn't complain. At least here he could keep an eye on Arthur better, and protect him if something were to happen.

On the stage, Arthur was stepping nervously from one foot to another, probably wondering if he should say something, and painfully aware of how much his body was being stared. Arthur's face was, aside his stunning eyes, pretty avarage, but his body was something else entirely. He was pale, slim and lovely, and everyone saw that now. The stage light also made his skin look like it was glowing, which in turn only made him more attractive.

Eventually, Arthur just pulled up his guitar, covering at least some of his parts (and earning some boos), he cleared his throat and began his first song with a few sad notes:

"_Can you tell me, softly  
How you'll always haunt me  
Can you help me  
Hold me  
Come to me now, slowly  
You caress me, smoothly  
Calm my fears and soothe me  
Move your hands across me  
Take my worries from me_

_I will sacrifice  
I will sacrifice  
All I have in life  
To clear my conscience_  
_I will sacrifice  
I will sacrifice  
All I have in life  
Sacrifice, sacrifice_..."

The first thing that came to Alfred's mind hearing the song was that Arthur had picked a wrong song. It sounded almost like was inviting these people to manhandle him! Looking around himself, he reaslised he was right. Though it was dead silent in the bar, and the men had set their drinks down, they were all staring at Arthur, completely mesmerized. It was sad too, Alfred realised, as he looked at Arthur's face and all he saw was movement. The song was so melancholic, so sad. It was like Arthur managed to portray everything that was in his soul just by one song. But that, Alfred supposed, was what drew these men to him in the first place. Even he could feel his heart beating a bit faster.

As soon as after the song ended, the silence in the bar disappeared as well. The people around him became the vocally greedy bastards they had been just a moment ago, as they clapped at Arthur, and whistled for him. Lust burned in their eyes. Alfred could see that many of them were thinking about getting some 'extra performance' from Arthur. Arthur could do that to people who saw him singing. Arthur had once told him that was why he didn't like singing much. He revealed too much of himself in his songs, and the vision to his soul was too captivating to many. Because he was an atrificial.

Some millenniums ago, there had been a severe shortage of females and children in the land of Terra. This was mostly because back then families thought males were more valuable as heirs since they could do more hard work and therefore bring more food to the table. Also, there had been beliefs that if a son was the first child born of a family, it would bring them good luck. This had led to horrendous slaughters and abandonments of girls, even massacres. Some even made a living out of killing baby girls. All this had led to that there were barely ten girls for some 80 boys, which could've eventually led to humans to becoming extinct.

Because of this, the most powerful magicians of Terra were called to help. Back then magical powers had been a lot more common and powerful, while these days most using magic were almost as bad at it as Arthur. The magicians of old had cast a spell on a chosen group of young, healthy males, changing their bodies so that they had the ability to become pregnant and give birth. Upon having sex with a 'real' male, the anatomy of their bodies would change. The male parts would still be there, but now a womb would also been created to accommodate babies. Eventually, when the babies they would have were past breastfeeding, the birth-giving males would become regular males once more. These males had originally been known as harbringers or bearers, but these days an 'artitificial', short from an 'artificial male' was the most common term. The term originated from the fact that the artificial males looked like regular men, but were often more like women because of their upbringing. Thus, they were kind of artificial.

The spell still lived on, leading to there being half the amount of females and artificial males compared to the amount of regular men. A baby could be an artificial, a regular male or a female, and marriages between artificial males and regular males were just as common as marriages between a male and a female. Of course, two regular men and two females could also get married, but they could have no children unless they adopted. Two artificals could also get married, and have children. They only needed to decide which one would top while having sex; the bottoming one could become pregnant. Artificials and females could also marry, though with these marriages only the female could become pregnant. Marriages between two artificals and an artificial and a female were not very encouraged, though, since they prevented more regular males from having children with artificals.

Artificals were very desired and hunted for because they were wonderful to look at, being usually absolutely enchanting with their deep and big eyes, round faces and slim bodies. They were quite easy to tell apart from regular males for these feautures, but as babies and young children the only difference between them and regular males was the blue sun-shaped tattoo-birthmark every artificial male had somewhere in their bodies. Artificals were usually rather pretty and cute than handsome as males, their bodies and shoulders were thinner and hips just slightly rounder. Their voices were often softer, too, though not always.

Arthur was an artifical male, Alfred knew that much. Arthur's face wasn't as feminine as most artificials', so usually people weren't able to tell he was one when he hid his body under his dark cloak. But Alfred knew Arthur was one from the baths where he'd seen Arthur's slim features, and his blue birthmark, which was on his upper right arm. And now that Arhur was barely clad, Alfred knew the others in this bar knew as well, even without the wolf-whistles his performance earned.

Arthur began his second song. This one wasn't as sad by its melody, though the lyrics were still kind of melancholic, which seemed to only excite the crowd. People ordered more drinks, and Arthur's singing could barely be heard over the noise. Alfred squeezed his hands into fists; here they were. Now it no longer mattered how Arthur performed. He was just being eye candy.

Arthur seemed to realise it himself. His voice wasn't as full of emotion anymore, and it was beginning to sound a bit scratchy. Still, he handled himself like a pro, knowing there was no reason to turn back now. He finished the second song, earning more applause, whistles and demands for more beer.

One of the men in Alfred's table didn't order more to drink as one of the bar's waitresses came to the table. He barely noticed her presence, really. All his focus was on Arthur, and it unnerved Alfred greatly. He'd had to keep an eye on that one. Most of the men in this bar were old enough to be married, and had probably come here just to get a break from their nagging spouses and crying children at home. They were the ones to fantasise about the pretty performers, but in the end wouldn't touch, no matter how great the temptation. But this guy...he was young, and seemed to be pretty serious. He had no wedding band of any kind either. With his dark hair that fell carelessly on his blue eyes, he was even pretty attractive in his own right. And his eyes followed Arthur's every move.

Speaking of Arthur, he was just beginning his last song. This one's melody wasn't sad at all, but the lyrics were still pretty meaningful, if you paid attention to them. However, the cheery melody got the crowd pretty excited, many began clapping to the beat of the music, yelling supports, which actually made Arthur smile a bit. At Arthur's smile, Alfred felt the guy next to him jump a bit in his seat.

Arthur finished, bowed and earned huge applause. Alfred joined in the clapping, seeing many bang their beer glassed on their tables and tap their foot on the ground for the adding effect as Arthur softly stepped off the stage. He gave a small wave, before looking at Alfred's direction. Their eyes locked, and Alfred smiled at his friend, giving him a thumbs-up.

Arthur began approaching him, and before Alfred could try and explain to him that he better come to him instead, the guy next to him had stood up, and rushed over to Arthur. Some of the older men at the tables were brushing their hairy hands across Arthur's bare tights as well. Honestly, did the man have no sense of self-protection?

The black-haired man had made his way to Arthur, and now had one arm around him while he lifted his small chin with his free hand.

"Hi, gorgeous." He purred. "That was quite the performance you gave us there. Do you perform that well _elsewhere _as well...?"

Arthur kept his cool. "Please unhand me. I have to get back to my friend."

"Oh, come on babe, loosen up a bit." The guy smirked. "I promise you'll have a good time..."

"I thought he asked you to unhand him." Alfred, who had seen it was time to meddle with the situation, said. His hand was on the guy's shoulder in a warning manner.

"Alfred..." Arthur muttered.

"What is to you? I can let you go first if that's your problem..." He mumbled, before burying his face into Arthur's neck and feeling his bare legs upwards...

"S-stop..." Arthur mumbled, trying to push the guy away, only to have him tighten his hold of him...

And suddenly, Alfred saw red.

After that, everything was a bit of a blurr. Alfred could vaguely recall punching the guy straight on the face, making hilm loose his grip on Arthur, and throwing him on the ground. Suddenly they were pushing and punching each other, while people cheered them on, yelling "Fight! Fight!". Arthur tried to pull him away, yelling something about it not being worth it, which only seemed like it made Alfred only angrier. But he supposed the green-eyed artificial had eventually managed to pull him away from the guy, as they had both ended up in the backroom. Alfred sat on a chair while Arthur changed back to his normal clothes.

"That was a very stupid thing you did." Arthur said as he stepped from behind the changing frames, fully clad again.

"But, but...he was insulting you! Treating you like you were some kind of object! I couldn't let him do that!"

"It wasn't worth it. I could've handled him myself. I told you that I can take care of myself." Arthur sighed, as he approached his companion. Gently, he lifted Alfred's chin up with his hand, examining the cuts and bruises on his face. He no longer looked so angry as he smiled down at Alfred. "But...thanks anyway. I'll do my best to fix those wounds in return."

Alfred smiled softly, as much as his aching face allowed. He honestly didn't know why he had reacted so strongly. It wasn't like he didn't know Arthur could fend for himself. And deep down, though he didn't want to think about it yet, he knew the chaos he had caused might've put them in a bad light with Belle. She still had the keys to the case, and with all that had happened, she might not give them to them after all now.

As if reading his thoughts, Belle stepped inside the backroom, looking a bit flustered.

"Man, what a racket! It took me a while to calm it all down." Alfred opened his mouth to at least apologise, but Belle beat him to it. "I'm really sorry about that. I wanted to put some eye candy for the guys here, but I never thought it would end up like this. It never has before. I'm honestly very sorry. I should've known better – after all, when there are a lot of people drunk in a small space, things tend to get rather rowdy. I shouldn't have put you up to it. Just singing should've been enough. I'm sorry, so sorry..." She babbled on.

"Really, it's fine." Arthur interrupted her in the middle. "Nothing serious happened, after all. It's not your fault."

Alfred stood up. "Then...you'll give us the information?"

Belle nodded, still looking apolotegtic. "Of course. You've earnt it. However, I really do want to make this up to you both. How about you stay here for the night, and I'll give you the information tomorrow morning? This is also and inn, you see...and of course, it'll be free of charge. You earnt me so well tonight that it would be the least I could do."

Alfred and Arthur exchanged a look.

"It would be our pleasure to stay." Alfred smiled.

Belle smiled as well. "That's good. Would you follow me, then?" And just like that, she opened a door that was in the backroom, but which the two men hadn't really paid attention to before, and which revealed stairs. The two men followed her.

"You know, your songs had a great impact on me." Belle said as they walked up, looking back at the two men.

Arthur looked up. "Really?"

Belle nodded. "There is a reason I am the way I am, the sort of ruthless businesswoman...you see, I divorced just two years ago...it wasn't pretty. I loved my husband a lot, but he was conservative and controlling and never let me do a thing on my own. I had big dreams and was outgoing, I wanted to be able to express myself more. He wouldn't allow it, said I would only get hurt trying and that it would be better if I just let him take care of everything. We got into a big fight and...it resulted me to miscarry our baby."

Alfred's heart jumped into his throat rather uncomfortably.

"After that, we just couldn't look at each other the same and he told me that if I wanted freedom so badly, I should just go. It was a hasty deal, I wasn't left with anything much...but what money I did get I used to open this bar. I've done well for myself afterwards, but...the whole ordeal was so painful and suppressing that I felt like I needed to prove I could make it. That I was strong and could take care of myself, unlike what my husband had thought..." She sniffled. "I'm sorry, I'm babbling. It's not like you would be interested in my problems..."

"No, no, it is alright." Arthur said, before Alfred could. "Did my songs make you think about the past?"

She smiled a bit sheepishly. "I guess. I've always kind of wondered if we could've worked things out, and the other times I try to tell myself I'm happy the way I am, but I honestly know it's not true. It's not easy, and it's lonely too." She sighed. Just then, they reached the end of the steps, which was the second floor filled with doors of small rooms. "Alright, you can have the first two rooms on the left. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

She turned to leave.

"Actually, Ms. Belle..." Arthur began. She stopped and turned around. "I honestly don't think your husband meant to be rude or controlling towards you. Perharps he was just worried; you were pregnant after all. Or maybe he just didn't know how otherwise show he cared for you or wasn't used to strong women who work. Either way, if it really bothers you as much as it seems to, you should try and contact him again. Perhaps you could work it out."

Belle's eyes widened. "B-but he told me to go! He didn't even ask me to stay!"

"There you have it." Arthur smiled. "Most likely there was just too much miscommunication between you two. He wanted to give you the chance to be free, and also see if you would like to stay, when all you really wanted was for him to ask you to stay...and give you just a bit more freedom." He gave her a small smile and placed a friendly hand on her shoulder. "You still love him, I can tell. Otherwise he wouldn't be on your mind so constantly. Besides, you never once referred him as you 'ex-husband', only your husband. Contact him, and try to work it out."

"B-but...what if we can't work it out? Or what if he has someone else already?"

"That is just the risk you're going to have to take. Either way it is going to be hard. But...if you see him again, at least you'll know what could've been. And then you can move on."

For a moment, Belle looked doubtful and uncertain, but then she gave a little smile. "You know, I might consider that. Thanks for the advice."

Arthur smiled. "Don't sweat it. Also, could we get a bowl of water and a clean cloth, as well as some bandages? I'd like to clean my friend's wounds."

Belle smiled wider. "Of course. Right away, sir."

* * *

That was fun. Though I never imagined I could write something so...vulgrar. Though to you it probably doesn't seem all that vulgrar XD.

Terra is the name of the world the characters live in.

Song used: "Sacrifice" by T.A.T.U

This was originally much longer, but it was long as it is, so I decided to chop it in half.


	5. Chapter 5

In the end, it took another two weeks for Alfred and Arthur to reach the city Antonio lived in. It was a beautiful, fertile place near the coast, slightly South-West from Romanum, and near the border of the South-East territory. From the sea, the landscape seemed to rise upwards, so the city's white houses were built on 'steps' craved in the earth, forming steets. The city really was lovely, Alfred had to admit as he took a look at it on top of the flat hill the landscape eventually formed. The view of the blue ocean water sparkling in the afternoon sunligt was astonishing, and he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit jealous of the people who lived here.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Arthur almost whispered next to him. His eyes and voice were oddly soft, gazing at the sea. The sun hit his eyes as it did the ocean, and made them shine even more than usually. This, for some reason, made Alfred's knees feel a bit wobbly and his stomach curl in not all that bad manner.

He cleared his throat, willing for those weird sensations go away. "Y-yeah, it really is. It'd be lovely to live here."

Arthur chuckled. "I would've thought you wouldn't like to settle down. You're so adventurous, almost restless..."

"Well, I guess I just haven't had a good reason to settle down yet, you know? Life was really boring where I was born and raised, and we were so isolated that only a few even knew of our existence. Everyone there I knew, and I knew them from birth, so I couldn't even meet any new people. I suppose one day I'll probably want to settle down...but it would be in some big city where there is always something going on."

"What would such 'good' reason be, if I may ask?"

Alfred flushed lightly, and scartched the back of his head in embarrasment. "Well...you know...if I ever fall in love and get married. I'd probably want children sooner or later, too, and kids need to have their both parents around. I couldn't exactly be away all the time like now. I doubt I could bring myself to drag my wife around all the time, either. The world is dangerous."

"What makes you so sure your future life partner is going to be a woman?" Arthur suddenly demanded, and sounded really frustrated for some reason. There was anger in his expression, now, the way his huge brows were tense and his lips pouty.

"Whoa, Art, I didn't say that. But I'm a full male, so I'd guess my future spouse would still be my wife, you know? Aren't you artificals called that when you marry full males?"

"That doesn't make it any less offending. Just because we've been given the ability to give birth like women doesn't mean we are women. Therefore we're not 'wives', either. I hate that we're so often treated like we are some sort of pretty trophies everyone fights over. We're just as much men as all of you, maybe even more, because at least you full males don't have to go through nine months of pregnancy and then the difficulty of childbirth!"

"Hey, hey, Art, I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean to insult your, or anyone else's, masculinity or pride or, or anything!" Alfred panicked, holding his hands up in a surrendering effort. "I promise I'll adress my future life partner as my future spouse from now on, if it makes you feel better, okay?"

Arthur spent a few more seconds glaring at him, but then let out a calming breath and took an, shall he say it?, almost bashful glance sideways. "As long as you understand."

There was an awkward silence. Arthur seemed to decide that the best way to break it was to cough.

"We should find that Antonio now." he said.

"Y-yeah." Alfred replied, as Arthur took the map Belle had given them from his pocket, and began showing the way. Antonio lived on the side of this city, right where the foresty hill they stood on started. Apparently, he owned a vegetable garden there, and sold and ate them to make a living. Belle had told them his vegetables were famous for always being really fresh and juicy. His speciality were the tomatoes, and there were rumours that he practiced potions that made his growings become so delicious and stay so fresh for so long.

But Alfred was hardly thinking about Antonio or his vegetables right now. Instead, he thought about how strongly Arthur had reacted to his words. Now that he really looked into it, he supposed his comment _had_ been kind of rude. He knew how artificials often ended up, after all. All too often, when an artificial male was born, they really were treated like some pretty prizes by just about everyone, including their parents. They were status symbols, really. When an artificial male was born into a family, his parents often wanted to marry him off to some rich lord to have a better life for themselves. Most artificials ended up miserable in arranged marriages, never knowing real, true love which Alfred dreamed of finding.

In the land of Terra, arranged marriages were more than common. The law stated that a child could marry by the time they turned 13 at the earliest, but even then they'd need their parents' permission in order to do so. In other words, the parents' opinion was all that really mattered at that time, and therefore they could arrange their children to be wed to people they approved of. Usually the marriages were negotiated between the parents of two families, or if the arranged partner was old enough, then with them. Youths could freely chooce their partner when they turned 15, which was the age for becoming a legal adult in Terra. After turning 15, if the marriage was unwanted by both partners, they could take a divorce, but only if both spouses disliked it. Divorces unfortunately required approval of both sides of the couple, and therefore were rather rare. A marriage could also be annuled if it wasn't consumed physically by the couple within six months of their wedding, which gave some poor artificials at least a little hope.

Alfred glanced at his partner walking next to him, wondering if Arthur had ever been treated like that. It would certainly explain his reaction. Maybe his parents had treated him like he was just an object, or maybe-

"Look, over there." Arthur's voice interrupted him, but Alfred regardless took a look where he was pointing. Not bar below them was a wide field, full of green plants which grew many different vegetables, from paprikas to olives on trees. The field met a hill at its one end, and at the other was a beautiful house covered in yellowish, gleaming stone. The house was big enough to tell of good wealth, but also small enough to be cozy. It did have upstairs, as the windows sticking up from the roof proved, a balcony, and a wast porch with a few sun chairs on it, to which broad three stone steps led. But it really was just a house. Far from a palace, but also bigger than most houses even here in the South. From the front of the house there began a stoned, rather large yard. There were flower pots here and there on it.

The investigator pair looked at each other and without saying anything, they carefully began climbing the hill down. It was sandy, and not very high, so it wasn't really that dangerous. Their feet hitting the stones of the yard, they quickly brushed off most of the sand from their clothes, hoping to look at least somewhat presentable, before going up to the house's porch and knocking on the door.

Not long after, they could hear steps coming closer from the inside, among with a male, slightly panicked voice calling: "Wait, wait, just a minute!"

Soon, the front door was opened by a Southern-looking, quite handsome man with somewhat curly, short dark brown hair, olive green eyes and lightly tanned skin. He was dressed in a a shirt that had probably once been white, but now was so worn that it looked more light brown, tightnened on his chest by a deep red ribbon, some dark brown, quite worn but comfortable-looking pants and a dark green apron, which was somewhat covered in white flour. His feet were currently bare, and he and the whole house smelled of baking.

He blinked his green eyes at them, before cocking his head on one side, looking rather lost in an almost comical way. "I'm terribly sorry, but I don't seem to recall your faces. Do we know each other?"

"No, not personally, but if we're correct, we know _of _you." Arthur stated. "Are you Antonio Fernandez Carriedo?"

The guy blinked again. The gesture made him look like a child, despite the fact he otherwise seemed to be even older than Arthur. "I am. Can I help you somehow?"

Alfred and Arthur took a quick glance at each other, grinning victoriously.

"Do you know a person named Romano, by any chance?" Alfred asked. He figured it was better to ask Antonio about Lovino by his false name, since that's how Antonio seemed to know him.

The expression on Antonio's face completely changed. His confusion turned into radiating happiness, to the point his smile was so wide Alfred was afraid his face was going to split in two and it seemed to shine like the sun. "Oh, you're Roma's friends! How nice! Come on in, come on in!" He stepped away from the doorway, and the two other men accepted his invitation. "Roma is currently napping – it's the siesta time, you see – but if you don't mind waiting, he'll probably wake up pretty soon."

"We're in no hurry. We can wait." Alfred said, taking off his boots, since all the shoes seemed to be meant to be left near the door. The entrance hall's floor was made of wood and on each wall framing it there was a door. One seemed to lead to a large and kind of messy living room, the other to an even messier kitchen. At the end of the hall was a staircase upstairs.

"I'm sorry about the mess, I had no idea we were going to have guests! I did just bake churros, though, so would you like some?"

"Sure...if it's no bother." Alfred, never one to turn down what was apparently food, though he had never tried these 'churros' before, said.

"Of course not! Roma's friends are always welcome! He has so few! Just leave him a couple, since he'll be cranky the whole rest of the day if he doesn't get snacks after siesta!" All this, Antonio said with a sunny smile and a few steps to the kitchen. Alfred and Arthur followed him there, and took seats around the six-person table. Antonio took some dirty bowls off the table and served them a plate of some auburn, pastry-looking thick sticks with ridged surfaces. They smelled sweet, and Alfred took one, taking a bite. It was good.

Antonio kept smiling. "I was just making some hot chocolate." he said, motioning to the kettle on the the stove, heating. He took out some proclain mugs and a square-shaped metal can, which probably held cocoa powder inside it, from the cupboards on top of the stove. "So, where are you two from? You don't really look like locals, and I think I would've seen you around." Antonio stated, setting a mug in front of each of them and placing the metal can on the table. He had a soft, gentle-sounding Southern accent.

"We're from..." Alfred began, trying to think up a good lie.

"...West territory originally. However, we met Romano in Romanum, where we currently live." Arthur finished for him.

"Oh, I see! How nice! I'm sure Roma will be happy to see you!" Just then, he seemed to decide whatever he was heating in the kettle was ready and he took it off the stove, pouring the steaming hot milk into the mugs. "Help yourselves, please."

Alfred opened the metal can and breathed in the smell of the cocoa powder. Hot chocolate had been a very special priviledge in his old village, and he'd only got to drink it once a year – on his birthday. He had usually drunk his cold though, since it was usually so hot in Juli. Even now, he would've preferred it cold, since the weather this South was pretty warm, too, but he wouldn't complain. Instead, he began putting the powder into his mug with the little spoon that was in the can.

He'd barely had time to sip his warm drink when heavy, almost angry-sounding steps pounded on the ceiling. Soon afterwards, they were coming down the stairs.

"Roma's awake!" Antonio cheered, and left the room. "Good morning, darling! Did you sleep well?" his voice rang from the entrance hall.

"S-shut up you bastard! You were being loud and woke me up, damn it! What were you doing, talking to yourself anyway?" a feisty voice spoke in the hallway.

"I'm sorry, Roma, I didn't mean to!" Antonio apologised, sounding slightly panicked. There was a moment's silence. "...can I have an after-siesta kiss?"

"...I guess, idiot, though you don't really deserve it." there was a sound of a soft, quick kiss being exchanged, before more steps followed and Alfred and Arthur came face to face with no one else but Lovino Vargas.

Lovino didn't look much different from the picture they had seen of him. He was just a little older, a bit taller and with somewhat boarder shoulders. He also had a bed head from sleeping, and he wore some simpler clothes than in the photo. Those clothes included a white shirt with black ribbon and some knee-lenght brown pants. He would've been almost cute if he'd smiled and not scowled.

He stared at them. Well, more like glared. "Who the heck are you?"

Antonio followed at his heels. "Roma, don't they know them? They told me they came here to see you. I figured they were your friends."

"I don't fucking _have_ friends, you bastard!" Lovino yelled at him. "I can't believe you and your naivety! They could've been bulglars or axe murderers, for heaven's sake! You don't just open your house to complete strangers, dimwit!"

"B-but Roma-!"

"Enough of this." Arthur spoke, his voice stern, if a bit annoyed. "Lovino Vargas, we were sent by your brother, Lord Feliciano, to find you. He's terribly worried about you, so would you please cooperate and come back to Romanum with us?"

Lovino huffed. "I should've figured you were my idiot brother's spies."

"Not exactly. Lord Feliciano is just our current employer." Alfred clarified.

"No matter! I'm not coming back to Romanum!" Lovino yelled again.

"Roma..." Antonio began, placing his hands on the smaller male's shoulders.

"Shut up, Antonio! Go water your tomatoes or something!"

Antonio hesitated for a few moments, but then left the room. Soon they could hear the door open and close.

Arthur spoke up again: "If you're not going to come with us, could you at least tell us why you ran away like that? I do understand you left with Mr. Fernandez Carriedo, and why, but why didn't you at least leave a note to your brother? He's been worried sick about you, you know."

Lovino crossed his arms. "He'll get over it."

"What about your people? You have duties towards them, don't you? You could've at least formarly given up your position or-"

"Shut up!" Lovino screamed. "They don't deserve an explanation! I don't owe them anything! What have I ever received from them, aside from lectures! They don't even want me, they want Feliciano!" He panted. "Always...it's always Feliciano..."

There was silence in the room, the only sound being Lovino's laboured breaths.

"You've always been compared to your brother, haven't you?" Arthur spoke, surprising both Lovino and Alfred. "He's always been more loved than you, hasn't he? It started with your grandfather, and continued with others. Even though you're supposed to be the first in line heir, no one has never really seen _you_, right? Only your brother...everyone prefers him, everyone loves him..."

"S-shut up..."

But Arthur didn't shut up. "In the end, you finally did find someone who saw _you_, and because he knew you by a fake name, he didn't judge you by your high status either. He loved you, and since you left with him, I'm guessing you love him too, even if you don't show it. How could you, when this is the first time you've really been loved? When your grandfather then died, you decided to leave behind your old life, let your brother have your position like everyone wished, and finally live a life of your own. You didn't believe they would even miss you, so you didn't say anything to anyone." Arthur looked Lovino straight in the eyes. "Am I right, Lord Lovino Vargas of South?"

Lovino blushed, and looked away. For a while he said nothing.

Then... "It was Grandpa's wish." he said, his voice bitter and broken. He sounded like he wanted to cry, but was ashamed to do so in front of strangers. "He always wanted Feliciano to take his position. And I knew Feliciano would make a great ruler. He's been educated for it with me, and he loves the people as much as they love him. It's not like he needs me...he has that blondie bastard of his."

"He really has been worried though." Alfred put in. "You said he'd get over it, but...I really don't think he will. He won't give up until he sees you again. I know his existence has been harmful to you, but...you're still brothers, right? You're a family. And he does need you." He looked Lovino in the eyes too. "So could you please come with us? Tell him why you left and formally give up your position to him. After that, you'll be able to continue your life here, without that burdening you."

There was silence again. Lovino seemed to be considering his words, and Alfred prayed in his mind that his diplomacy had gone through him.

Finally Lovino sighed. "Oh, alright. But I'm not doing this for you, nor am I walking all the way back there. We'll take the train."

* * *

And so they did. Antonio was more than willing to pay for the train ride, granted that he could come along as well, since he also wanted to meet his future brother-in-law. It turned out that Antonio did know Lovino's real identitety, as Lovino had told him before they'd fled Romanum together, but he tended to ignore it most of the time. He loved Lovino the person, not Lovino the lord, and was just more used to calling him Romano, or, 'Roma' as he had shortened it.

There had been a night train going to Romanum that day, and it would be there early the next afternoon. Taking the train was an unique experience for Alfred; he had never imagined something could move so fast! It seemed like the landscape was just flashing by! It had been slightly weird, almost scary at first, but he had got used to it. He, Arthur, Antonio and Lovino had their own cart in the train, and the view from the window was wonderful. He had been almost too excited to sleep, but had finally gone to the land of dreams around midnight.

He woke up later, when it was still rather dark, to whispering:

"...didn't really think you'd recognise me." Arthur's voice.

"I'm not that thick-headed, Arthur, even if we might not know each other that well." Lovino's. "How long are you planning to run away?"

"Not long anymore. I'm just waiting for the right moment. I really kind of want to go back home soon..."

Lovino huffed. "Whatever. It's not like it's any of my business..."

'I must be dreaming.' Alfred thought to himself, and decided this was a boring dream and decided to change it. Soon he was dreaming of other things, like flying and dancing in the air with fireflies and someone who had no face.

* * *

When they arrived in Romanum the next day, Antonio paid to a carriage driver to take them to the castle. Lovino wore a light grey cloak with a hood on him so he wouldn't be recognised by the townspeople. When they arrived at his childhood home, though, he revealed the guards who he was and they were let inside the gates. One of the guards went to fetch Feliciano, who had apparently locked himself up in the chapel again. Lovino stood in front of them all, his back turned to them and hands cletched in his front. He stared at his feet, while moving them in the ground. He was clearly nervous, though he tried to hide it, stopping his feet shuffling upon noticing he was doing it.

"Lovi!" came Feliciano's bright, enthusiastic voice. Lovino and everyone else looked up, and saw the younger Vargas brother running towards them, dressed in a rather strange get-up. He had long, thick white robes on him, which looked almost like a dress and a matching white beret on his head. He also had long red stole worn around the back of his neck, and its two ends, with golden crosses embroidered on them, hung down parallel to each other in his front, among with, as could be seen when he came closer, some matching, real golden crosses as necklaces. He looked like a priest, and, as far as such strange outfit went, quite dazzling. White fit him, seemingly mirroring his innocence and sweetness. He waved at them, looking overjoyed and with tears of relief in his eyes.

Feliciano didn't slow down until he had jumped and embraced Lovino. He wept on his chest, arms around him. They were nearly the same height, with Lovino being only about one and a half centimeters taller. "Oh Lovi! I'm so glad you are alright! I was so worried! Don't do things like that! I thought I had lost you too, like Grandpa!"

Lovino huffed a bit, but it wasn't a very harsh huff. And he put his hands on Feliciano's back, almost-embracing him, too. "Idiot. As if I'd die that easily."

Feliciano backed up from the embrace to look at his brother's face. "But why did you leave like that! If you wanted to go, couldn't you have at least told me? I've been terrified, Lovino! So terrified..." Lovino had let go of him by now, and Felicino was trying to wipe his eyes. Alfred felt a bit uncomfortable, just watching. This seemed like an intimate moment between the two brothers, but he had no idea where else he could've gone.

Lovino closed his eyes, sighing, before opening them again. "I figured you wouldn't miss me, just like everyone else. I thought you would've taken the opportunity, told everyone I ran and left them, and taken over my upcoming position, like Grandpa wanted. You know he did."

Feliciano looked taken aback, almost scared. Alfred didn't blame him. To have his own brother say things like that to his face probably wasn't easy.

"L-Lovi, I..." Feliciano muttered, his tears stopping to flow as he cletched his hands in his front, trying to find the right words. "I...know you probably hate me, because Grandpa treated us the way he did, but...I would never do something like that to you. I couldn't. You're my brother, Lovino. Even if you hate me, it doesn't change that I love you! We're a family, Lovi! Now that Grandpa is gone, you're my only family. I never planned to take over your position, not even while you've been gone, even if I have been taking care of your duties in the meantime. I had to, otherwise it would've all fallen apart! But otherwise I just figured I'd support you the best I could, hoping that in time you'd forgive me for all those years you suffered because of me. Even though I'm sad Grandpa's gone, I really wished we could've finally really been brothers, that things would get easier with us when Grandpa wasn't around anymore, playing favourites with us..."

He bent his head, and swallowed. His shoulders trembled. There was silence.

"I don't hate you...Feli." Lovino finally said, his voice almost warm. Feliciano looked up, resulting Lovino to look away in embarrasment. "It's not like it's your fault Grandpa liked you better. You just happen to take after Dad in looks, that's where it all started, really. You reminded him of his dead son, we both know that...But what the heck do you need me for? You have that bastard fiancé of yours..."

"Lovi..." Feliciano took Lovino's hand into his both hands. "As much as I love Ludwig, he could never replace you. You're both important to me, and in different ways. You both have your own special places in my heart, and one can't fill the other. Ludwig is my fiancé, true, but you're my brother, Lovino. Despite everything, we really are a family, and for that reason alone, I need you."

Lovino's ears got a bit red. "I-idiot." He mumbled, but covered Feliciano's hands with his free hand.

Just then, someone sniffed loudly. Looking on his left, Alfred saw Antonio crying waterworks. He tried to wipe the tears off with his hand, but it was no use.

"B-bastard! W-what reason do you have for crying?" Lovino yelled, his expression a mixture of shock and scare.

"I-it's just so beautiful!" Antonio shrieked. "Your brotherly love is so strong, Roma! You never told me your brother was so sweet!"

"For a good reason, too." Lovino huffed. "Feli, that idiot over there is Antonio, my...fiancé of sorts."

Feliciano's eyes widened in bewilderment and joy. "So _that's _why you ran away, Lovi! You should've told me this earlier! Congratulations!" He then let go of Lovino's hands and went to shake Antonio's. They chatted excitedly for a moment, apparently to getting along quite well, before Feliciano seemed to realise Alfred and Arthur were there too. He walked over to them. "I can't thank you enough for bringing Lovino home. How much do I owe you?"

Alfred grinned at him. "You're welcome. All in all, it took us about a half a month to find him, so I'd say it's about 50 aures."

"But that's so little! You've saved my territory, I'll be willing to pay you twice that!"

"But-!"

"No buts! You really have no idea how much this means to me. Not only as a prince of this area, but also as Lovino's little brother."

"Feliciano." Lovino spoke, his voice serious now.

"Yes?" Feliciano turned to him.

"I hope you realise I'm not staying. I still want you to take over my position. Marry your blondie bastard and rule this area with him. It's not for me. I'm going back with Antonio and live a simpler life."

"Lovi...you're sure about this?"

"I wouldn't have left in the first place if I wasn't." Just then, Lovino's eyes were a bit gentler. "Grandpa's wish was justiced. You're meant for this job, Feli. I'm not." Then he seemed to realise what he had just said, and blushed furiously. "B-but it's not like I'm doing this for him or you or anyone but myself! I don't care for responsibilities, I just want to eat and sleep and laze around every day. I can't exactly do that here!"

Feliciano's eyes became worried. "You won't run away again, will you? It should be made official before you leave..."

"I won't run. But I want the formalties done today, so I won't have to stay in this craphole that much longer."

Feliciano seemed a bit sad to know his brother would be leaving again so soon, but he nodded nevertheless, looking rather determined as well as melancholic. "Alright, if it'll make you happy, I'll do it. And I'll do my best to fullfill your and Grandpa's expectations of me, too."

Lovino blushed again, resembling a tomato. "Just go change out of those idiotic priest clothes and get your lawyers."

"Yes, Lovi." Feliciano said, giving him a small smile and rushing inside the castle.

* * *

A couple of signed papers later, the deal was clear. The people of South would find about the ruling right having been moved to the younger of the Vargas twins first thing in the morning on the newspaper.

Of course, Feliciano wouldn't have the real position as the South's ruler before he got married. According to the laws of Terra, if the previous ruler of a territory had more than one child, they could state their wish for which one of their children they wanted to become the ruler after them, but it was outruled by the law that whoever of the children would marry first would become the heir. This also meant Lovino couldn't marry Antonio before Feliciano was married if Lovino didn't want to go back to his old life, even if they could still live and be together.

"I'd gladly marry Ludwig any day." Feliciano told Alfred and Arthur, explaining this all to them. "Even though our engagement was arranged by our grandfathers – they were quite good friends before Grandpa died – I've known Ludwig my whole life and loved him for a long time, too. But Ludwig's big brother Gilbert is supposed to take over the South-East's throne after their grandfather, Lord Marcus, passes on. He is 25, but he still hasn't found himself a spouse yet, no matter how many women and men Lord Marcus makes him meet. And Ludwig and I must wait until he gets married. Otherwise we'd both be rulers of our territories, and would only rarely see each other - like now - and I don't want that. It wouldn't be good for our children either, if they saw one parent only half the time."

"It sure is all about politics with you guys..." Alfred mused, sympathetically.

Feliciano shrugged. "It often is with us, the members of the eight noble families. I'm one of the lucky ones, really. At least I get to marry someone I really love when I actually get married. That's really rare among my kind, since arranged marriages are so common. We members of the eight noble families can't really act on our own for the most part. Our people own us, and we must always think about them first; I can kind of understand why Lovi wants to leave this life behind. Antonio, though well-off, is just a commoner, their relationship wouldn't be acceptable in the eyes of society as long as Lovi is a noble. It's all political for most part. Marriages are a good way of strengthening or improving relationships between territories, after all. And while it's true that I miss Ludwig dearly always when I can't see him, every time I get to be with him, even if it's just for a while, makes up for it. We also do send each other letters when we're apart, too. And I'm willing to wait for him; he's worth it."

Alfred nodded. "I'm sure he is, if you love him that much." Feliciano smiled at him, albeit a bit sadly. Alfred decided he should change the subject. "That outfit you wore before...what was it? You looked almost like a priest..."

"Oh!" Feliciano exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "It actually _is_ my priest outfit. I always wear it when I go pray in the chapel." He explained. "One of the reasons Romanum is called 'the holiest city' is because every child born to the Vargas family goes through training for priesthood at the peak of our puberty at the age of ten. We just never finish the training, and therefore don't get a degree. Lovi and I were no exceptions. Grandpa bought us matching priest albs when we came back from training. I actually quite liked it in the priest school and church. It was also probably the warmest period in the relationship between Lovi and I, since there no one really knew us, and therefore didn't compare us to each other so much...If I didn't have to go on celibacy and didn't have duties towards my people, I probably would've gone back there and become a priest for real. The life in the church was just so serene..."

Alfred bent his head. He supposed he had never thought about all these aspects about being a noble. But then again, he supposed many peasants probably didn't. They, like him not too long ago, probably thought the nobles had it easy, what with living in their castles and having everything done for them. But in truth, now that he thought about it, what they had was a huge responsibilty. People trusted you to do the right decisions, and you could be blamed for even the smallest mistakes. Therefore you always had to think twice before doing anything and your life wasn't really your own. It must be tough...

"Well, enough of depressing things!" Feliciano beamed, hitting his hands together again. "Why don't you two go refresh yourselves for a while, and then you can join Antonio, Lovi and I for dinner?"

"Sure!"

* * *

A bath and a dinner later, they were all sitting together around the table, just finishing up the food on their plates and having a light conversation. Just then, Vash, who was standing next to Feliciano and keeping a sharp eye on him, whispered something to his master's ear. Feliciano's eyes widened.

"Oh god, I forgot!" He turned to Alfred and Arthur. "Sir investigators, while you were gone, a letter for you came here about two days ago!"

"A letter for us?" Alfred gasped, looking at his partner, whose head was again hidden mostly by his hood. "Could it be another assigment?"

"Most likely." Arthur replied. He turned to Feliciano. "Have you looked what was in it?"

"Of course not! It's rude to read other people's letters! The return address said that it came from Braginski Castle, though."

"Braginski?" Alfred questioned. The name was distantly familiar.

"It's one of the eight noble families. They rule the North-East territory." Lovino huffed, stuffing bread into his mouth. "I thought everyone would know that name by now, what with the scandal eight years ago and all."

For some reason, Arthur gulped.

"What happened eight years ago?" Alfred asked, suddenly burning to know.

"The current Braginski lord, Ivan, married a commoner. His old gardener for that matter. Everyone were so _damn_ shocked..."

"B-but Lovi, it wasn't that bad...I mean, Sir Yao seemed so beautiful and kind, I think he was good for Lord Ivan..."

"Could we please get back to the matter at hand?" Arthur asked, rising his voice slightly, tapping the table impatiently.

"O-oh, of course!" Feliciano exclaimed, starting to go through the pocket of his coat. He took out an envelope made out of yellowish paper, and handed it to Arthur. Alfred looked at his over his partner's shoulder. Indeed, the return address read:

_Lord Ivan Braginski_

_Braginski Castle_

_Petrograd City_

_North-East_

Arthur opened the envelope, taking out the letter and reading it. Alfred read it too, the best he could. But before he had a chance to finish, Arthur put the letter away.

"Hey, I wasn't finished yet!" Alfred half-yelled at his partner.

"You don't have to. We're expected to be in Petrograd, North-East, in four days the latest. We can never make it, it's way too far away from here."

"You could take the train..." Feliciano began.

"I don't think it would work." Antonio, surprisingly, put in. "I know the railroads pretty well because of my job. North-East doesn't have railroads yet, they are still being built. The best you could do is to go to near the border of North-East in North and perhaps take a carriage from there, but even then, it would take you at least a week to get there."

"T-there is really no way...?" Alfred gasped silently. He wondered, though, why would someone leave them an assigment with such a little time to come from so far away, at any rate? It didn't make any sense.

"...There could be one way." Feliciano spoke, a bit quietly, hand on his chin. Everyone looked up.

"Feli, you can't possibly mean...?" Lovino began.

"Why not? I mean, I know it hasn't been used in years, but it should still work, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Alfred asked, intrigued. "Even the riskiest bet could be useful now. We can't really afford to miss any assigments, despite your generous salary to us, Lord Feliciano."

Feliciano stood. "In that case, please follow me. I'll show you something."

Alfred and Arthur fetched their things, and Feliciano led the investigator pair through the castle's emptry corridors and up long, stony and curling staircase to one of the castle's highest round towers. At the end of the long staircase was a wooden, old door with handle and a lock made out of dark iron. He took out a big key made out of the same material and clearly equally old, and used it to open the door.

Alfred wasn't sure what he had been supposed to expect to see, but it certainly wasn't a room with a round, wooden floor and ceiling, one window on the stone wall, and something that looked like an ordinary, albeit old and beautifully decorated cupboard made out of dark wood. It was the only thing in the tower room. And Alfred couldn't hold back the small "Huh?" that forced itself out of his mouth before he could bite his tongue.

Feliciano smiled at him and montioned to the cupboard. "This is one of the Vargas family heirlooms, the Teleboard; shortened from the Teleportation Cupboard. When you step inside it and think of a place you want to go to, it'll take you there in a blink of an eye. We used to use it all the time when we needed to go to other territories for visit, but one time as a child I tried to use it without adult guidance and apparently wasn't thinking of the place I wanted to go to hard enough. I ended up lost somewhere in Romanum and it scared Grandpa so badly he moved this thing up here."

Alfred gulped nervously. "And it hasn't been used since?"

"No, but it should still work. It's hundreds of years old, made with the ancient magic that should never decrease."

Alfred took a look at Arthur, but only saw confidence on his face. And that's when he thought it really was their best bet. It wasn't like they wouldn't survive a few days in the wild if they got lost. Besides, heroes weren't supposed to get scared of new experiments, no matter how odd they might seem! And so, he stubbornly forced the thoughts of ending up in the middle of the sea or somewhere in a different universe, and turned to Feliciano.

"Thank you for everything, Lord Feliciano. I believe we shall take our leave now."

"So soon already? Wouldn't you stay a while longer?"

"We're sorry, but the assigment said we need to be in Petrograd in four days _the latest_. In other words, it implies it would be even better if we were there sooner." Arthur spoke. "Thank you for this, it means a lot to us..."

"Hey, you helped me, so I should help you. And I don't mean just finding Lovi..." He smiled a bit sheepishly. "Thanks for listening to me earlier. It made me feel a bit better, just getting to talk about the things that bother me. I talk to Ludwig sometimes, but...he's so dutiful. I don't think he likes it very much when I don't 'take it all like a man'..." he chuckled, a bit tearfully.

"You're welcome, Lord Feliciano...and thanks again." Alfred said as he opened the cupboard doors. "I hope everything works out for you."

"And I wish both of you all the best."

They both nodded at each other, before Arthur spoke to his partner: "We probably should just think about Petrograd, not the castle...the people there might be a little freaked out if we appear in the middle of the castle all of a sudden. We might seem like spies or criminals or something..."

"You're right. Petrograd it is then." Alfred waved to Feliciano, and stepped inside the cupboard with Arthur, closing the doors behind him.

He had barely blinked when he realised a cold wind was blowing against his face. The next thing he knew was that he was standing in the middle of nowhere in an unknown environment, where nothing except grass and a few bushes here and there seemed to grow.

"Oh crap." He cursed, kicking the ground.

"You read my mind." Arthur said next to him, and Alfred was relieved that at least they hadn't been separated. "Looks like the old cupboard isn't working so well anymore, after all. Or one us wasn't thinking about the location hard enough..."

"Hey! What are you implying, you...!"

"Never mind, we should get going. It's going to get dark soon, and it looks like it's going to rain, too. We need to find out if there is any sort of civilization nearby."

"Y-you're right, there's no time for arguing. Let's go."

They hurried forward, and didn't stop even when the sun set. However, when the first raindrops began dripping, Alfred really started to worry. Soon enough it was pouring, and the two of them ran through rain.

"Oh man, this is bad! We need to find somewhere we can stay dry for the night or we'll surely catch colds!" Alfred screamed, trying to cover his already-wet head with his arms with little success.

"Don't you think I don't bloody know what, idiot!" Arthur yelled, his hood over his head and running ahead of Alfred.

Just then, something caught the younger male's eye. It looked like a blink of light. He hurried forward, and the light grew bigger. There was something nearby!

"Look, there! I see light!"

"Let's hurry!"

Not much later they had ended up on what seemed like a small farm. There were three buildings that formed an unfinished square, with also a smaller house a bit further away, near a small lake. There was also a fenced area for animals, some apple trees and a vegetable field. The house that didn't have another building opposite to it had lights on.

"Do you think they'll let us in?" Alfred asked as they stood under the shead above the door of the apparent main building. "Who the heck would live here, in the middle of all this wasteland, anyway?"

"I don't know, but I hope that whoever they are, they'd at least let us sleep in their barn or something. And that they aren't some murderers running away from law." Arthur said as he knocked on the door.

"D-don't even joke about things like that!" Alfred exclaimed, now kind of scared. He could hear heavy footsteps coming over to the door. By the time they were really near, Alfred wondered what kind of human weighted that much and whether this had been such a good idea after all. But the door was opening by now, and it was too late to run away. It felt like he had frozen to his place, either way. As the door opened, the pair came face to face with...

A giant with icy eyes.

* * *

Phew, that took forever to write! After the previous chapter, I kind of took a creative break, went to an anime convention (I cosplayed as Revolutionary War!England, which was kind of appropariate since the convention took place on 3rd and 4th of July), took a trip to Åland, and the past few weeks have been a slave to my old Advanced English course books. I have the matriculation exam (which is kind of our A-levels – the exams we take on our last year of High School. If we don't pass a certain amount we don't graduate) of it next autumn, and I need to be prepared, so writing has been kind of slow. It didn't help that this is the longest chapter so far, but I really wanted to finish the South Saga already.

Congratulations to Sweden for having two more-than-a-cameo appearances on the anime! I was sure they wouldn't animate him because he's gay...but he was even allowed to call Finland his wife! Even though he couldn't tell him that he didn't consider it a joke...I doubt I've ever been this excited over a character's TV appearance. They even fixed his colours!


End file.
